1
Short introduction.2
Central plan of the tomb of King Unas.3
Hieroglyphs of the text.4
Table of contents of the Pyramid Texts of Unas.5
The sarcophagus chamber.6 The
passage-way.7
The antechamber.
8The corridor.

Ex hypothesi, the pyramid complex was the place of the
royal cult, involving regeneration (rebirth) and ecstatic unity with Re.
These two steps, the Lunar, Osirian rebirth or regeneration of the divine king
and his Solar, Heliopolitan ascension were not yet integrated, but the two
themes are clearly present as is the urge to stress Re in Osirian contexts and
emphasize Osiris in Heliopolitan spells, pointing to an awareness of the
inevitability of both poles.

SOLAR RE - DIURNAL

LUNAR OSIRIS - NOCTURNAL

the eternal cycle of dawn/dusk/dawn
the seasonal cycle of the Two Lands

the perpetuity of darkness - the Nun
the local, monthly cycle of agriculture

Re-Atum
hidden in Nun
the diffused, efficient principle of Nun

Osiris is
created by Re-Atum
Osiris is left behind in the Duat

Bi-sexual
Atum is self-created within Nun
simultaneously s/he generates the Ennead
he, the Lord of Eternity

mostly passive himself, Osiris is reassembled
by Isis &
healed by the Eye of Horus

Atum thrones
the Akh-sphere

Osiris
thrones the Duat

Atum belongs to pre-creation
Atum is the sole Lord of Creation

Osiris is bound to creation & the Duat
Osiris receives a separate jurisdiction

Atum is the spirit of matter or the awareness of consciousness (of
itself)

Osiris is the matter of spirit or the substrate of consciousness
: energy.

Atum refers to eternity-in-everlastingness
the recurrent hatching within Nun & the
indestructible, primordial nature of light

Osiris refers to everlastingness and the endurance of absolute
sameness, the backbone of being, the prima materia

"neheh"
the Akh

"djedet"
the Ba, the Ka

Antechamber
Re chamber

Burial-chamber
Osiris room

Perhaps this royal cult was at hand as soon as the
new king was crowned ? The Heb Sed ritual has Osirian connotations (the king
assuming the dramatic role of Osiris to regenerate), whereas the daily service
of the king, or his representatives, in the inner sanctum of later temples
dedicated to the deities, involving opening the doors of the horizon and facing
the deity in the "naos", is reminiscent of the companionship with Re which
befell the divine, ascended king in the sky. The representative of the king
assumed the divine, for in principle, only the high priest faced the cult
statue.

Reading the text in terms of a spiritual drama (a
mystery-play - cf. Sethe, 1928) calls for an editorial format in
which the expressive, exclamatory style is used to boost the narrative. Mindful of what is not
at our disposal when translating Old Egyptian, what can we do more than make an
intelligent guess ? This presupposes constant revision and the study of new
source material.

In my opinion, the texts do follow a single story-line focused on the spiritual
experience of the divine king, albeit interrupted by emotional appeals and
statements, and ruled by the "logic of the cardinal points", associating
different semantic fields with different directions in space.

conjectured
symbolism of the compass points

Another important fact : the text continue to emphasize the Solar nature of the
divine king, despite his long and difficult experiences in the Duat. Even if his
Duat-experience transforms him into the Living Osiris himself, he does not
belong there and has to emerge from it, to enter the horizon, the Akhet (cf. the
presence, both on the South Wall, of commendations to Re in the Osiris room and
elaborate Osiris rituals in the Re chamber, as it were to balance the overall
meaning of the two chambers). Connecting Western sarcophagus, passage-way,
antechamber and Eastern serdab forms the "exit" vector, whereas a circular
movement from West to East is at work in both chambers. By making all
hieroglyphs read from left to right but facing right instead of left, the North
Wall of the antechamber, leading to the corridor, the physical exit to the
Imperishables, and dealing with the actual ascension of the divine king,
introduces an important symmetry-break.

But even in the horizon, the power of Osiris is not to be denied and the Duat
not to be given a negative connotation, for Osiris purified the divine king
(in the Books of the Netherworld, he accompanies Re well into the 12th Hour, but
does not emerge from the Duat). The horizon is the place of ascension. The
divine king is given many methods to fly up to his divine father, the sole
creator-god. When the spirits in Re's sky see him coming, they fear him. Most of
them he indeed gulps down, to affirm himself in the sky of Re as the "image of
images" and the "power of powers" ...

Which general story-line can be discerned ?

Ex hypothesis, and conform comparative religious studies, the sacred
rituals were initiated by purifications and magical devices to repel negative
forces and condition the area for what is about to take place. Following
Spiegler, Allen & Naydler, the present text starts in the sarcophagus room, with
the protective texts on the West Gable, just above the sarcophagus.

To enter the magical West, the netherworld or the Duat, the living ecstatic or the deceased
(as a mummy) is laid to rest in the
sarcophagus, heading North. Maybe the accompanying rituals were elaborate
ceremonies, of which the Offering Liturgy recorded the skeleton ? The Offering
Liturgy on the North Wall is the earliest known liturgy in recorded history, and contains the traditional list of offerings found in
earlier tombs, but also offerings presented to the divine king, as seen in
coronation rituals (cf. the Dramatic Papyri) and in renewal ceremonies
like the Sed festival. Although we do not know when this liturgy was
employed, Naydler (2005, p.186) conjectures that during the liturgy, the
divine king underwent rituals bringing him near to the direct experience
of the spirit world (of the dead) while he was himself alive.

The jump from the North Wall to the South Wall is suggested by the unity
formed by the twelve South-to-East-Wall texts. They contain the ritual of the
Osirian rebirth of the divine king, the son of Re-Atum. They begin with the king entering the Duat and going through
the regenerative rituals of Osiris, reminiscent of the later Amduat-texts,
in particular the dynamics of the 6th Hour of the night (cf.
the midnight mystery). A kingly prayer is
introduced and followed by three priestly statements. On the East Wall,
he is crowned as the living
Osiris, the king of the Duat himself, but by nature he remains
the son of Re, and he is not destined for the Duat.
He is called back and receives, as the East Gable texts explain, food &
refreshments after his ecstatic ordeal (or after his postmortem
vindication by Osiris).

The North passage-way finalizes the "offering" themes, while the South
passage-way preludes the king entering the horizon.

In the antechamber, the West Gable explains how the divine king emerges from the Duat as an
Akh, a spirit, away from Osiris as headed towards Re, his father. Although
the Duat purified the king, his is on his way to the spirits of Re and the
horizon provides him with the means to do so.

The West Wall describes the reborn Horus-king, whereas on the South Wall,
the career of the son of Re comes to the fore. To finally merge with Re by way
of the horizon, the necessity of Osiris and the Duat are stressed.

The North Wall depicts the ascension of the divine king.

The East Gable describes his arrival in heaven, while the East Wall are
protective spells, closing the protective circle, opened with the
protective spells on the West Gable of the burial-chamber.

Finally, outside the tomb proper, the West Corridor confirms the horizon
was opened for king Unas, while the East Corridor ends by saying the king
escorts Re in the sky. Indeed, via this North passage, the divine
king ascended to the light of the Imperishable Stars.

CENTRAL PLAN OF THE TOMB OF KING UNAS

"<" from right to left or ">" from left
to right
"<" or ">" between numbers = sequence of the
text
"<" (face left) or ">" (face right) underneath / above numbers = direction
of the signs

3.1
West Gable : the king emerges from the Duat.3.2
West Wall : the reborn Horus-king3.3
South Wall : life, work & death of the living Horus-king.3.4
North Wall : the king ascends to Re.3.5
East Gable : the king enters the sky.3.6
East Wall : protecting the East.

The first number given, is the ordinal position of the utterance in the present English
version of the 232 utterances of the Unas text, while the second is the
traditional enumeration of the sayings by Sethe.

1 (226) To say the words :
Entwined is a Plait-snake1 by another Plait-snake, (and this)
toothless calf which came forth from the pasture has been entwined.

Earth, swallow up what has emerged from You !
Monster, lie down !
Crawl away !

The Majesty of the Pelican has fallen in the water.
Snake, turn over, that Re may see You !

2 (227)To say the words :
"The head of the great black bull has been cut off."

Henepu-snake, I say this against You !
God-repelling scorpion, I say this against You !
Turn over, slide into the Earth, for I have said this against You.

3 (228)To say the words :One face has fallen on another face !
One face has seen another face !
The coloured knife, black and green, has gone against it.
It has swallowed the one it has licked.

4 (229) To say the words :This here is the fingernail of Atum, pressed on the knot of the vertebrae
of Nehebu-Kas (the serpent deity), the one which stilled the turmoil from
Hermopolis.

Fall down !
Crawl away !

5 (230)
the two spells of Elephantine

by the priest : To say the words :Your two <poison-fangs> into the Earth !
Your two ribs into the hole !
Shoot liquid while the Two Kites will stand up.
Your mouth will be closed by the instrument of punishment, and the mouth of the
instrument of punishment will be closed by Mafdet.
The one made <weary> will be bitten by the plait serpent.
by the King : O Re, I, King Unas, have bitten the Earth. I have bitten Geb. I have
bitten the father of him who would bite me. This one is the one who would bite me, I did
not bite him. He bit
me at the instant after seeing me. It was he who came against me, I did not go
against him.

If You bite me, I will cause You to be alone ; (but) if You (only) look at
me, I will permit You to have your companion.

by the priest

The plait serpent has been bitten by a serpent, a serpent has been
bitten by the plait serpent. The sky will entwine, the Earth will entwine. The
male who turns around the people will entwine, the god Blind-is-his-head will
entwine,
and You yourself, scorpion, will be entwined.

These are the two spells of
Elephantine which are in the mouth of Osiris, which Horus has cast on the
backbone (of the snake).

6 (231)To say the words :Your bone is a harpoon and You are harpooned. The hostile hearts are
<held
off>, and the pillars who are in the kiln's place are felled.

That is Hemen !
7 (232)To say the words :Vascular one, vascular one !
Seminal one, seminal one !
You long one of his mother, You long one of his mother !
Fluid one, fluid one !
The desert shall be washed for me.
Do not ignore me !
8 (233)To say the words :Fall, serpent that came forth from the Earth !
Fall, flame that came forth from Nun !

Fall down !
Crawl away !

9 (234)To say the words :On your face, You on his coil !
Get down on your backbone, You in your undergrowth !
Turn back because of me, You rejoicing with her two faces.

10 (235)To say the words :You long one, beaten flank, beaten flank !
You have copulated with the two female guardians at the threshold of my
praised sovereign.11 (236)To say the words :Earthen One of the Courtyard, <Trampled Porphyrite>,
Foot-trampled, Cord, son of Hifeget - that is your name !12 (237)To say the words :The spittle is ended, what is in the (poison) sacs has fled
to the house of its mother.

Monster, lie down !13 (238)To say the words :
The bread of your father is yours, You whose attack has missed !
Your own bread of your father is for You, You whose attack has missed !
The Gold of Jubilation, Apparent in Heat (as the Sun), that is your bull, the strong one
against whom this is done. 14 (239)
To say the words :The White Crown has emerged and swallowed the Great One.
The tongue of the White Crown gulped down the Great One, but the tongue
was not seen.
15 (240)
by the KingTo say the words :Serpent, to the sky ! The centipede of Horus, to the Earth
!
The cowherd, Horus, is stepping.
I, King Unas, have trodden on the path of Horus,
unknowingly, not knowing.

On your face, You in his undergrowth !
Be dragged away, You who are in his cavern !
Meat for the pot of Horus, which pervades the Earth !

O let the monster be off !16 (241)To say the words :Spit of the wall !
Vomit of the brick !
What comes out of your mouth has been turned back against yourself !17 (242)To say the words :The flame has been extinguished !
No lamp can be found in the house where the Ombite is.
The biting snake is all over the house of him whom it would bite,
hiding in it.
18 (243)To say the words :Two Hetes-sceptres,
two Hetes-sceptres,
belong to two Djema-ropes,
two Djema-ropes,
as trampled bread.
Lion, go away !
Whether You are here or whether You are there, servant, spit out !

Commentary

In the burial-chamber, a total of 155 spells are found
: 18 are protective (West Gable), 118 constitute the Offering Liturgy
(North Wall), 12 describe the Osirian experiences of the king
(South-to-East-Wall) & 7 discuss his nourishment in the Duat (East Gable).

Spells 1 - 18 may be classified
as prophylactic (defensive).
The exact reason why they work eludes us today, but besides the
specific rhythm caused by the language itself (lost in translation),
reminiscent of the trance-inducing "barbarous words" used in later Greek
spells, each spell must have evoked a whole network of connotations
specific for the Egyptian situation and mentality. Their short,
exclamatory style confirms this and adds to their Sa-energy.
The latter, contrary to the all-embracing aspect of the Heka-field of
magic, is dynamical and local. It needs, like in irrigation, proper
channels to flow and fructify. Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to
understand their meaning, and they surely belong to the mythical register
of the composition.

Their overall meaning is clear : the King must be protected against evil
serpents. The spells are meant to drive the "monster" away, making sure
the sarcophagus is free from any possible danger. In Egypt, serpents were
not all malefic and some protected houses and store-rooms.

The positioning of this section confirms this. The West Gable directly
overlooks the West half of the burial-chamber, i.e. the direction of the
Duat entered through the false door. It seems as if they were placed there
to make sure the divine king, when rising as a Ba out of his sarcophagus,
would not be hindered by biting snakes (black magic ?) to enter (or
return from) the netherworld of Osiris. Apparently, these spells relate to
similar spells at the other end of the tomb, namely on the East Wall of
the antechamber.

The West Gable records the Great Speech of the divine king in two
instances. In the first (5), he addresses Re, and in the second (15) he
affirms to step like Horus.

II

BURIAL-CHAMBER / North Wall

OFFERING LITURGY

register 1 : 23, 25, 32 - 57

I Preliminary
Purifications

all by the priest
19 (23) purification by water

Osiris, seize all those who hate King Unas -pour
water- and who
speak evil against his name. Thoth, go, seize him for
Osiris. Bring him who speaks evil against the name of King Unas. Put him in
your hand.

To say the words four times :"Do not let go of him !
Beware, do not let go of
him !"-pour water-20 (25)
censing Ka-rite

Someone has gone with his Ka.

Horus has gone with his Ka.
Seth has gone with his Ka.
Thoth has gone with his Ka.

To say the words four times :
-burning incense-
"The god has gone with his Ka.
Osiris goes with his Ka.
Eyes-Forward has gone with his Ka.
You also have gone with your Ka."

O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is behind You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is behind You !

O Osiris King Unas, I have given You the Eye of Horus !
May your face be adorned with it !
May the perfume of the Eye of Horus diffuse
over You !21
(32)
pouring of libation under the
feet
This is your libation, Osiris.

This is your libation, O King Unas, have gone forth -libation & two pellets
of natron- to your son, have gone forth to Horus.

I have come
and I bring You the Eye of Horus, that your heart may be refreshed with
it. I bring it to You under your feet.

Take the outflow that comes out from You.
Your heart will not be weary with it.

To say the words four times : "Come, (for) You have been invoked !"

22
(34)
purification of the mouth by
Upper Egyptian natron

Cream, cream, splits open your mouth !
O King Unas,
-Upper Egyptian natron of Nekheb, 5 pellets-
taste its taste in front of them of the divine chapels.

What Horus spits out is cream.
What Seth spits out is cream.
What reconciles the two gods is cream.

To say the words four times : "You
are purified in the company of the Followers of Horus."23
(35)
purification of the mouth by Lower Egyptian natron

Your purification is the
purification of Horus.
Your purification is the purification of Seth.
-Lower Egyptian natron of Shetpet, 5 pellets-
Your
purification is the purification of Thoth.
Your purification is the purification
of the god.
Your purification is also among them.
Your mouth is the mouth of a sucking calf on the day he is born.24
(36)
final censing and declaration of purityYour purification is the
purification of Horus.
Your purification is the purification of Seth.
Your
purification -incense, one pellet- is the purification of Thoth.
Your purification is the purification
of the god.Your purification is the purification of your Ka.
Your
purification is the purification of your purification,
and this purification of yours also is among your brothers, the gods !

Your purification is on your mouth :
You should clean all your bones,
and end what is against You.

O
Osiris, I give You the Eye of Horus !
Provide your face with it, spread through.II Opening of the Mouth Rituals

1. Ritual of Opening the Mouth

25
(37)
the Peseshkef or Flint SpreaderO King Unas, I have fastened your jaws
spread for You.-the Peseshkef-

King Unas !
Take the Eye of Horus
which went away :
I have brought it to You that I might put it in your mouth.
-Zeru-salt of Upper Egypt and Zeru-salt of Lower Egypt-

28
(40)
the Shiku of Osiris

O King Unas, take the Shiku-mineral of
Osiris !
-Shiku-

29
(41)
the tip of the breast of Horus

Take the tip of Horus' own
breast !
Take what is for your mouth !
-milk, 1 jar-

30
(42)
the breast of Isis

Take the breast of your sister
Isis the milk-provider,
which You should take to your mouth.
-an empty Menza-jar-31
(32)
pouring of libation under the feet
This is your libation, Osiris.

This is your libation, O King Unas, have gone forth -libation & two pellets
of natron- to your son, have gone forth to Horus.

I have come
and I bring You the Eye of Horus, that your heart may be refreshed with
it. I bring it to You under your feet.

Take the outflow that comes out from You.
Your heart will not be weary with it.

To say the words four times : "Come, (for) You have been invoked !"

2. Mouth-opening Meal32
(43)
the Eye of Horus

Take the two Eyes of Horus,
the black and the white.
Take them to your forehead, that they may brighten your
face.
-the lifting up of a white jar and a black jar-

33
(44)
dedication of offerings to Re

Re in the sky shall be pleased with You,
and he shall pacify the Two Lords for You.
The night is favorable to You.
-a fresh bread-loaf-
The Two Ladies are favorable to You.

Offerings have been brought to
You.
Offerings is what You see.
Offerings is what You hear.

Offerings in front of You !
Offerings behind You !
Offerings are your portion !

34
(45)
preparation of the mouth
O Osiris King Unas, take the
white teeth of Horus, which shall equip your mouth.
-a bowl of 5 onions-heads-

35
(46)
offering for the Ka : first
cakeTo say the words four times :
An offering which the King gives for the Ka of King Unas.
O Osiris King Unas, take the Eye of Horus, your bread-loaf, and eat.
-a bread-loaf of offering-

36
(47)
first cupO Osiris King Unas, take the Eye of Horus, which was
taken from Seth and which You shall take to your mouth,
and with which You should part your mouth !
-wine, a Hatjes jar of white quartzite stone-

37
(48)
second cup

O Osiris King Unas, part your mouth with your
full measure !
-wine, a Hatjes jar of black quartzite stone-

38
(49)
third cup

O Osiris King Unas, take the
<ferment> which comes from You !
-beer, a Henet-bowl of black quartzite stone-

39
(50)
glorification of Re

O Re !
Your dawning, You in the sky, your dawning,
for
King Unas,
Lord of All Things !
As all things belong to yourself,
let all things
belong to the Ka of King Unas,
let all things belong to himself !
-the
lifting up before him of a sanctified offering-

40
(51)
second cake
King Unas !
Take the Eye of Horus,
which You should taste.
-1 loin cake-

41
(52)
third cake

(O) You interred !
(O) You of the dark !
-1 porridge-loaf-

42
(53)
first meat

King Unas !
Take the Eye of Horus, which You should embrace.
-1 kidney-

43
(54)
fourth cup

King Unas !
Take the Eye of Horus,
which was taken from Seth and saved for You !
Part your mouth with it !
-wine, a Henet-bowl of white quartzite stone-

44
(55)
fifth cup

King Unas !
Take <the ferment> that comes from Osiris !
-beer, a Henet-bowl of black quartzite stone-

45
(56)
sixth cup
King Unas !
Take the Eye of Horus,
rescued for You.
It will never escape from You !
-beer, an iron Henet-bowl-

46
(57)
seventh cup

King Unas !
Take the Eye of Horus,
provide yourself with it !
-beer, a blackened Henet-bowl-

BURIAL-CHAMBER / North Wall
register 2 : 72 - 79 , 81 - 96, 108 - 116

3. Anointment with Seven Oils

47
(72)
festival oil
O Osiris
King Unas, I have filled your Eye with ointment.To say the words four times : -festival-scent oil-

49
(74)
pine oilO Osiris King Unas, take the Eye of Horus, on
which he caused <devastation>.-pine oil-

50
(75)
rejoining oilO Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus, which he rejoined.
-rejoining oil-

51
(76)
support oilO Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus, wherewith he got the gods.
-support oil-

52
(77)
pine oilOintment ! Ointment !
Where should You be ?
O You on the brow of Horus, where should You be ?
-first quality cedar oil-
You were on
the brow of Horus, but I will put You on the brow of this King Unas.

You shall give
pleasure to him who wears You.
You shall make an Akh of him who wears You.
You shall cause him to have power in his body.
You shall put the dread of
him in the eyes of all the Akhs who shall look at him and everyone
who shall hear his name (as well).
53
(78)
Libyan oilO Osiris King Unas, I bring to
You the Eye of Horus, which he has taken to your brow.
-first quality Libyan oil-

4. Presentation of Eyepaint
54 (79)
paintTo say the words four times : O Osiris King Unas, the Eye of Horus has been painted sound on your face.
-a bag of green
eye-paint, a bag of black eye-paint-

5. Presentation of Linen
55
(81)
linenMay You awake in peace !
Awake, Ta'it, in peace !
Awake, You of Ta'it-town, in peace !
-two roles of linen-
The Eye of Horus in Dep, in peace !
The Eye of Horus in the Mansions of the Red Crown,
in peace !
You who receive the working
<women>,
You
who adorn the Great One of the carrying-chair,
and
cause the Two Lands to
bow to this King Unas,
like they bow to Horus,
and
cause the Two Lands to dread King Unas,
like they dread Seth.

May You sit in front of King Unas in his divinity,
open his path at the head of the Akhs,
that he may stand at the head of the Akhs like Anubis,
at the fore of the Westerners.

Forward !
To the front, with Osiris !
6. Libation & Cleansing

56
(25)
censing
Ka-rite
Someone has gone with his Ka.
Horus has gone with his Ka.
Seth has gone with his Ka.
Thoth has gone with his Ka.

To say the words four times :
-burning incense-
"The god has gone with his Ka.
Osiris goes with his Ka.
Eyes-Forward has gone with his Ka.
You also have gone with your Ka."

O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is behind You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is behind You !

O Osiris King Unas, I have given You the Eye of Horus !
May your face be adorned with it !
May the perfume of the Eye of Horus diffuse
over You !57
(32)
pouring of libation under the
feet
This is your libation, Osiris.

This is your libation, O King Unas, have gone forth -libation & two pellets
of natron- to your son, have gone forth to Horus.

I have come
and I bring You the Eye of Horus, that your heart may be refreshed with
it. I bring it to You under your feet.

Take the outflow that comes out from You.
Your heart will not be weary with it.

To say the words four times : "Come, (for) You have been invoked !"

III Offering Banquet

1. Preparation of the Offering Table58
(82)
Thoth came
with it to him.
He has come forth to him with the Eye of Horus.
-an offering table-

59
(83)
Give him the Eye of Horus,
that he may become satisfied with it.-O come with the king's offering !-

60
(84)O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus with which he became satisfied.
-the king's offering, twice-

61
(85)O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus and be satisfied with it.
-two offering slabs of the broad hall-

62 (86)
To say the words :Cause it to turn back to You !-Sit down ! Be silent ! the King's invocation-offering-

63
(87) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus and absorb it into your mouth.
-the mouth-washing meal, 1 loaf of bread, 1 jug of beer-

64
(88) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus, prevent him from trampling it.
-1 loaf of trampled bread-

65
(89) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus which he pulled out.
-1 bowl of pulled bread-
66
(90) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus,
for little is that which Seth has eaten of it.
-1 jar of strong
ale-

67
(91) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus which they have <reft> from him.
-1 jar of Henemes-drink-

68
(92) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus, lift it to your face.
-the lifting up of 1 loaf of bread and 1 Henet-bowl of beer-

69 (93) Lift up your face, O Osiris.
Lift up your face, O King Unas, whose Akh goes !
Lift up your face, O King Unas, be
strong and effective.
Look at what has come from You,
striking the one who is netted in it.
Wash yourself King Unas, and
part your mouth with the Eye of Horus.
You shall summon your Ka as Osiris,
and he shall protect You from every wrath of
the dead.
King Unas, take to yourself this bread of yours, which is the Eye of Horus.
70
(94) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus with which You have <refreshed> yourself.
-a Shenes-loaf-

98
(133) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus against which he went.
-1 bowl of spleen-

99
(134) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus which is from his forehead.
-1 bowl of belly meat-

100
(135) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus which is from Seth's forehead.
-1 bowl of breast meat-

101
(136) O Osiris King Unas, take the
<severed> heads of the Followers of Seth.
-1 bowl of goose-

102
(137) O Osiris King Unas, take <all> of this heart.
To say the words four times :
-1 bowl of white-fronted goose-

103
(138) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus, which he has brought.
-1 bowl of duck-

104
(139) O Osiris King Unas, take the one who came to
settle them.
-1 bowl of grey goose-

105
(140) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus !
Prevent him from having pain in it.
-1 bowl of pigeon-

5. Bread106
(141) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus which he pulled out.
-1 loaf of warm bread-

107
(142) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus, for it cannot be cut off from You.
-2 loaves of cut bread-

108
(143) O Osiris King Unas, the Eye of
Horus is allotted to You.
-a bowl of 2 loaves of Nepat-bread-

109
(144) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus, the water of which he caused to suffer.-a bowl of 2 loaves of Meset-bread-6. Drinks110
(145) O Osiris King Unas, take the Eye of
Horus, for little is that which Seth has eaten of it.
-2 bowls of strong ale-

111
(146) O Osiris King Unas, take
the eye of Horus, (for) they come, who have <torn> a piece from it.
-2 bowls of whipped cream-

112
(147) O Osiris King Unas, take the
Eye of Horus which they <reft> from him.
-2 bowls of Henemes-bear-

113
(148) O Osiris King Unas, provide yourself with <the ferment> which
comes out of You.
-2 bowls of beer-

In the Offering Litany, the divine king utters not a single word.
This ritual is entirely dedicated to him and although the ritual implies a
complicated social setting to perform, the divine king is entirely silent.
As a witness of what is happening, he accepts the trappings of the rubrics
and prepares to enter the Duat, the kingdom of Osiris.

In the litany, three royal purification rituals are recurrent. In spell
19, water is poured to cleanse the name of king Unas, in spell 20, his Ka
is offered incense and in spell 21, water is poured under his feet. These
repeated
purifications end with the canonical dedication to the Eye of Horus : "O
Osiris, I give You the Eye of Horus ! Provide your face with it, spread
through." Indeed, everything is effectuated through the Eye of Horus,
at work on three registers :

sum total of
offerings
: all possible stuff placed on the table of
offerings ;

offer of
offerings (offertorium) :
the Eye as the standard for all possible offerings ;

offer of communion (canon) : the "embrace" as communion
with the Eye.

The rituals of this second part focus on the preparation of the king,
making him ready to depart, magically activating his inner senses by
"opening his mouth", which will allow him to communicate with the invisible
netherworld. Here, the fine-tuning of the awareness of the divine king is
at hand, making it clear-clean to him he is about to transform. Purity is
the main factor. By eliminating all gross elements, the divine king
prepares for the transference of his consciousness to another state. After
his mouth has been opened, the divine king enjoys the mouth-opening meal.

vignette of Spell 23 - the opening of the mouth ceremony from the Papyrus
of Hunefer (New Kingdom - 19th Dynasty).

The Ritual of Opening the Mouth is a canonical rubric. It summarized the
Ancient Egyptian way to "activate" magical objects, the divine king
included. Its "full version", found in the New Kingdom, was codified into
75 separate acts (cf. the tomb of the vizier Rekhimira). It is an
assemblage of various rituals (cf.
Budge, E.A.W. : The Book of Opening
the Mouth, Blom - New York, 1972). It involves purification, censing,
anointing, incantations, touching the mummy with different objects,
restoring the senses, in particular the mouth, so the statue or the mummy
might eat & speak. Eyes, ears, nose and other bodily parts were also
touched. Central in the rite were the "peseshkef", probably a flint knife
with bifurcated, fish-tail blade, excavated from Predynastic tombs and
most likely used to cut the umbilical cord, the netjeru-blades, usually
made from meteoric iron, and a pair of magical staves, the Seb-Ur &
Ur-Hekau. The right leg of a specially slaughtered ox was also extended
toward the statue (or mummy), to pass on the Sa-power of the ox. The fact
it was also used outside the funerary context (namely to activate
statues), begs the question whether it also might have been used to allow
the living diving king to freely move in his forthcoming trance-state ?
The Ritual of Opening the Mouth ends with a royal purification ritual
(spell 21).

The Mouth-opening Ritual is a remarkable set of spells involving a ritual
meal taken by the king, surrounded by offerings and befriended by Re &
Osiris alike, ruling over a pacified Egypt. The presentation of offerings
equipped the divine king with a massive amount of Sa-energy (of the Kas),
helping him to overcome the forthcoming arduous rite of Osiris. After this
presentation, the "hetep" meal, or "offering" meal took place (cf.
Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus, Heb Sed festivals, etc.). After having had
bread, wine & beer, Re is glorified (spell 39) :

O Re !
Your dawning, You in the sky, your dawning,
for King Unas, Lord of All Things !
As all things belong to yourself,
let all things belong to the Ka of King Unas,
let all things belong to himself !
-the lifting up before him of a sanctified offering-spell 39 (50)

After glorification, the meal continues. In a way, these rituals are
reminiscent of the canon of the Eucharist (especially the early
format, as in the
Didache), with "king Unas", and all
divine kings, as the prototypes of Jesus Christ, and His presence in the
offerings as every offering as the Eye of Horus, while the latter's
consumption (mystical embrace with Osiris through the Eye of Horus) points
to communion.

The magic at work in the Lunar,
horizontal cult of Osiris is sympathetic and communal, and is Predynastic.
The offerings in the Offering Liturgy are dedicated to Osiris, the king
who receives the Ka & Ba and checks, on the basis of what is in the
"heart" or mind, whether the ritualist may proceed to the horizon and
transform to ascend to Re.

Osirian faith involves
a three-tiered dynamics of offering, starting with an endless variety of
superb goods to be offered, and culminating in the Eye of Horus as the standard of
the act of offering (the first two registers mentioned above, of which the
second is the offertory). The latter, the canon,
is a rejuvenating communion (a mystical embrace) with the Eye of Horus
itself and this by
consumption, for the Eye represents the power of healing and wholeness (the
third register).

all possible offerings
: first register : offered by the living Horus, the gods only
consume the "kas" of the various stuff placed on the table of
offerings ;

offer of
offerings (offertorium) :
second register :
the Eye of Horus represents all possible offerings (the "ka" of the
act of offering) ;

offer of communion (canon) : third register : the
consumption of the Eye of Horus restores Osiris and enables him to
send out his Ba.

The first step in the magic of
offering, is the presentation and
consecration of physical stuff (first register). These are then set apart from all other things (cf. "sacrum").
Both physically (they are placed on a table of offerings), as temporally
(they "exist" in the "First Time"), the offerings are a reality
on their
own, a piece of reality wholly and freely consecrated and returned to the
deity. The act of daily offerings is double. On the hand, the
best produce of Egypt is offered & set apart, on the other hand, ritual words &
actions empower these goods. This ritual intends only to offer the double
of these foodstuffs to the deities, for the latter only consume their vitality,
life-power or
"ka". After having enjoyed this, the food can be eaten by the priests and
distributed among the people, called the "reversion of offerings".

Sublimation, typologization, subtilization or semiotic transference of offerings (the second register),
are at work
in both spiritual economies. In the Solar economy, which is an
eternalization of the recurrent cycle of all photonic things, the divine
king offers Maat to Re, and "Maat" becomes "all good things".
Osirian faith is a linear approach of the cycle of life of every living
thing. In his Lunar role, the living Horus, entering the Duat, offers his
father his
Eye of Wellness, the archetype of "healing". Henceforward, the latter will give his son
a "good Nile". So Maat and the Eye of Horus, at times equated,
replacing all possible offerings, represent the synthesis of offerings. They operate
on two different levels of reality, encompassing the Two Lands. Maat
returns all to Re, the day, whereas the Wedjat is a gift to Osiris, the
night. Both the Eye of Horus and Maat are, like Pharaoh, the "image of
images", and the "power of powers" (cf.
Cannibal Hymn). No longer dependent on the physical quantity of the
offerings (the individual "kas" of the foodstuffs), Osiris receives
the synthesis of all
possible vital energy, visualized as the Eye of his son, destroyed (as he
was) by Seth, but restored (as he was) by Thoth (who assisted Isis). The
Eye of Horus is therefore the "ka" of all possible offerings, the
offertory of Egyptian religion.

Indeed, to the excellent quantity of the first register, a qualitative connotation
or sublimation is added : each
and every act of offering is conceived as the likeness of Horus giving his Eye to
Osiris (or of the divine king offering Maat to Re). The variety of excellent physical
offerings are so many manifestations of the same filial principle : as
Horus, a son vindicates and restores his father, i.e. the effect returns to the cause to
perpetuate the generative cycle, for a spiritual father will effectively
co-effect the success of his son, etc. ...

The canon, or third register, explains the final task of the Eye.
Osiris, becoming one with the Eye of Horus, eats the body of Horus as well as
its vital Ka-power, namely the Eye
as "offer of offerings" (cf. the second register), with bread
and beer as the best of the first register. Each time the king
assumes the role of Osiris, he embraces the Eye, which is "body" and "Ka"
of Horus, consumes the Eye and restores his soul, now ready to be spiritualized. This level is related to the soul, the "Ba",
the principle of movement and effective change. Because Osiris
consumes the Eye, he is able to set himself in motion, i.e. his
spiritual principle of motility and transformation (or soul) is activated.
This last effect of the Eye allows Osiris to transform his Ba into an Akh,
and rise as a luminous spirit in his own sky (of the Duat). As an Akh,
Osiris is able to send his Ba and cause a "good Nile", for he rules all
fertility (as does the Moon). He also becomes the "judge" of the dead, for
all, even divine kings, enter his Duat, while only Pharaoh is absolutely
certain to rise from the Duat, enter the horizon and ascend to his
celestial father Re and his Imperishable Stars.

The Mouth-opening Rituals end with the royal purification rituals (spells
20 - 21). The texts accompanying the Offering Banquet thematize the
conflict between Horus and Seth and the fact the Eye of Horus was pulled
out & cut off (by Seth), but healed (by Thoth) and given to Osiris (by
Horus), restoring him. The offerings are all done in the spirit of this
story and the fundamental fact of the restoration of the Eye and the
restoration of Osiris. For the divine king, being Osiris, participates in
this and so the offerings to the king restore him as they restored Osiris,
each offering being done as if it were the Eye of Horus.

Dramatically, one may conceive the Offering Banquet as
happening simultaneously with the Opening of the Mouth Rituals, making
the Offering Litany end either with the royal purification rituals (spells
20 - 21) of the second part, or with the dedication of offerings (spell
136) of the third part.

III

BURIAL-CHAMBER / South Wall (213 - 219)

VOYAGE TO THE DUAT

The King enters the Duat
137
(213)
the King
on the throne of Osiris

by the priest

O King Unas !
You have not gone away
dead !
You have gone away alive !

Sit upon the throne of Osiris.
Your Power-scepter in
your hand,
that You may give orders to the living.
Your Lotus-bud scepter in
your hand,
that You may give orders to those whose seats are hidden.

Your lower arms
are of Atum.
Your upper arms are of Atum.
Your belly is of Atum.
Your back is of Atum.
Your
rear is of Atum.
Your legs are of Atum.
Your face is of Anubis.
The Mounds of
Horus shall serve You.
The Mounds of Seth shall serve You.138
(214)
at the Head of the Westerners

by the priest
OKing Unas, beware of the Lake (of Fire) !
-to say the words four times-

The messengers of your Ka come for You.
The
messengers of your father come for You.
The messengers of Re come for You, (saying) : "Go
after your Sun and cleanse yourself, for your bones are those of the divine
falcon-goddesses who are in the sky.
May You be beside the god.
May You leave your house and ascend
to your son."

May You <fetter> anyone who shall speak evilly against the name of King Unas !
Go
up, for Geb has committed him to a low estate in the town of the pregnant one,
so that he may flee
and sink down weary.

But You shall bathe in the cool water of the stars !
You shall
board (the Sunboat) upon ropes of iron, on the shoulders of Horus in his name of "Him who is in
Sokar's boat". The Sun-folk will cry out to You once the Imperishable
Stars have raised You aloft.

Ascend to the place where your father is, to the
place where Geb is, that he will give You that which is on the brow of Horus, so
that You shall come an Akh thereby, take control thereby and that You shall be at the
head of the Westerners thereby.
The King is protected in the Duat by Atum139
(215)
healing the Rivals and
becoming completed (an Atum) to every godby the priest

O King Unas, your messengers have gone,
your heralds have run to your father, to Atum (to say for You) :

"Atum, raise him up to You, enclose
him within your arms.
There is no star-god who has no companion : I am your companion.

Look at me, as
You have seen the shapes of
the children of their fathers, who know their spell, who are Imperishable Stars
! See (in me) the two who are in the Palace - that is, Horus and Seth.

Spit on the face of
Horus for him, that You may remove the injury against him ! Pick up the
testicles of Seth, that You may remove his mutilation. That one has been born for You,
this one has been conceived for You, for You have given birth to Horus, in his
name of 'Him at whom the Earth quakes and the sky trembles'. This one has no mutilation, that
one has no injury. That one has no injury, this one has no mutilation. You
(Unas) have no injury, You
have no mutilation."

You have been born, O Horus, for
Osiris, and You have more Ba than he. You have more power than he. You have been
conceived, O Seth, for Geb, and You have more Ba than he. You have more
power than he.

There is no own seed of a god that has gone (from life), and You, his own, will
not go. Re-Atum will not give You to Osiris, and he will
not claim your mind, nor have power over your heart. Re-Atum will not give You to
Horus, and he will not claim your mind, nor have power over your heart.

O
Osiris, You cannot control him, your son cannot control
him !
O Horus, You shall never have power over him, nor shall your father have
power over him !

You belong, So-and-so, to that god of whom the Twin Children of Atum said :
"You are distinguished", say they, "in your identity of a god".

You shall become
completed to every god ! :
your head is Horus of the
Duat, O Imperishable Star.
your face is Eyes-Forward, O Imperishable Star.
your ears are the Twin Children of Atum, O Imperishable Star.
your eyes are the Twin Children of Atum, O Imperishable Star.
your nose is the Jackal, O Imperishable Star.
your teeth are Sopdu, O Imperishable Star.
Your hands are {Hapy} and Duamutef.
When
You demand to ascend to the sky, You ascend !
Your feet are Imseti and Qebsenuf.
When
You demand to descend to the Lower Sky, You descend !
Your limbs are the Twin Children of Atum, O Imperishable Star.
You will not perish, your Ka will not perish :
You are a Ka !
The Midnight Mystery140
(216)
King Unas in the Nightboat of
the Sun, encircled by the
Duat

by the KingTo say the words :I have come to You, O Nephthys !
I have come to You, O Nightboat !
I have come to You, O Pilot-covered-in-Red !I have come to You, O Place-where-the Kas-are-remembered !
May You remember me, this King Unas !

Orion has become encircled by the
Duat,
as the Living One became
pure in the horizon.
Sothis has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became
pure in the horizon.
I, this King Unas, has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.

I have become Akh for them !
I have grown cool for them !
Inside the arms of my father,
inside the arms of Atum !141
(217)
King Unas gathering with Atum
in darkness

by the priestTo say the words :Re-Atum, this King Unas has come to
You, an imperishable Akh, Lord of <the Affairs> of the Place of the Four
Papyrus Pillars. Your son has come to You, this King Unas has come to You. You
shall both traverse the
sky, after gathering in the darkness (of the Duat) ! May You rise from the horizon,
from the place
in which You have both become Akh !

Seth and Nephthys, go, and
proclaim to the gods of the Nile Valley as well as their Akhs : "This King Unas
has come,
an imperishable Akh. If he wishes You to die, You will die ! If he wishes You
to live, You will live !"

Re-Atum, this King Unas has come to
You, an imperishable Akh, Lord of <the Affairs> of the Place of the Four
Papyrus Pillars. Your son has come to You, this King Unas has come to You. You
shall both traverse the
sky, after gathering in the darkness (of the Duat) ! May You rise from the horizon,
from the place
in which You have both become Akh !

Osiris and Isis, go, and
proclaim to the gods of Lower Egypt and their Akhs : "This King Unas has
come,
an imperishable Akh, as one to be worshipped, (Osiris) who is in charge of the
inundation.
Worship him, You Akhs who are in the waters ! Whom he wishes to live will
live ! Whom he wishes to die will die !"

Re-Atum, this King Unas has come to
You, an imperishable Akh, Lord of <the Affairs> of the Place of the Four
Papyrus Pillars. Your son has come to You, this King Unas has come to You. You
shall both traverse the
sky, after gathering in the darkness (of the Duat) ! May You rise from the horizon,
from the place
in which You have both become Akh !

Thoth, go, and proclaim to
gods of the West and their Akhs : "This King Unas has come indeed, an imperishable
Akh, arrayed on the neck as Anubis at the head of the Western Mountain, that he
may claims minds, he control hearts. Whom he wishes to live will live ! Whom he wishes to die will die
!"

Re-Atum, this King Unas has come to
You, an imperishable Akh, Lord of <the Affairs> of the Place of the Four
Papyrus Pillars. Your son has come to You, this King Unas has come to You. You
shall both traverse the
sky, after gathering in the darkness (of the Duat) ! May You rise from the horizon,
from the place
in which You have both become Akh !

Horus, go, and proclaim to
Bas of the East and their Akhs : "This King Unas has come indeed, an imperishable
Akh. Whom he wishes to live will live ! Whom he wishes to die will die !"

O Re-Atum, your son has come to You,
King Unas has come to You. Raise him up to You, enclose him in your arms, for he is the
son of your body for ever !Osirian rebirth of the King
142
(218)
King Unas presented to Osiris
and empowered

by the priestTo say the words :O Osiris, this King Unas has come
indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh. He will claim
minds, take away Kas and bestows Kas, as what he reckons, including whomever he summons to his side
or appeals
to him. There is none who will be excluded without his bread, without his Kas
bread, deprived of his bread.

Geb has spoken
and it has come from the mouth of the Ennead : "O falcon who succeeds (his
father) in acquiring (the throne)", they said
: "You are a Ba and in control !"

This King Unas has come
indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh, who surpassed You
and surpasses
You, wearier than You and greater than You, sounder than
You and more acclaimed than You, and your time here is no more. It is what
Seth and Thoth have done, your two brothers who do not mourn You.

Isis and Nephthys, come together, come together ! Unite, unite ! This King Unas
has come
indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

The Westerners who are on Earth belong to this King Unas : this King Unas has come
indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

The Easterners who are on Earth belong to this King Unas : this King Unas has come
indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

The Southerners who are on Earth belong to this King Unas : this King Unas has come
indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

The Northerners who are on Earth belong to this King Unas this King Unas has come
indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

Those who are in the Lower Sky belong to this King Unas : this King Unas has come
indeed, the <fledgling> of the Ennead, an imperishable Akh.

143
(219)
Litany of identification with
the Living Osiris (King Unas)

by the priestTo say the words :Atum, this Osiris here is your
son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Shu, this Osiris here is your
son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Tefnut, this Osiris here is
your son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Geb, this Osiris here is your
son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Nut, this Osiris here is your
son, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Isis, this Osiris here is your
brother, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Seth, this Osiris here
is your brother, who has been caused to be restored that he may live and punish
You :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Nephthys, this Osiris
here is your brother, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Thoth, this Osiris here
is your brother, who has been caused to be restored that he may live and punish
You :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Horus, this Osiris here is your
father, whom You have caused to be restored that he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Great Ennead, this one here is Osiris, whom You have caused to be restored that
he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Lesser Ennead, this one here is Osiris, whom You have caused to be restored that
he may live :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Nunet, this Osiris here
is your son, of whom You said : "Someone has been born to me.", You said,
and You wiped his mouth for him after his mouth had been parted by his beloved son
Horus and his limbs numbered by the gods :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in Heliopolis,
who endures in his necropolis :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in Busiris, chief of his nomes :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in the
Mansion of Selket, the Ka At Rest :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in the divine booth, who is in the censing, the one of
the coffer, the chest and the sack :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of him who is in
the White Palace of Laurel wood :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in
Orion, with your season in the sky and your season on Earth :

O Osiris, turn your face and look on this King Unas, for your seed which issued
from You is effective :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in
Buto, may your arms be about the meal, your daughter,

Commentary

The first and last three spells are said by the priest,
while in between we find a prayer said by the king.

Spell 137 confirms the departure of the divine king. He is not gone dead,
but alive ! In trance, or in the "sah" or "noble body" after death, he
enters the Duat seated on the throne of Osiris. Assuming the latter's
role, the divine king confirms his power in the kingdom of darkness and
death.

Spell 138 makes clear the king has entered the domain of Sokar, traveling
on the Solar boat (from the Lake of Fire, the blessed drink cool water,
but for sinners it is like fire). He is the foremost of the Westerners, not
because he belongs to Osiris (in who's realms he entered), but to Re.

Spell 139 powerfully confirms this by allowing Atum, in this dangerous
passage through the Duat, to protect the divine king. Vivid language
depicts how the king assimilates the deities so Osiris cannot control him.
Indeed, the separate jurisdiction of Osiris is feared, even by the king.
He must make sure he is not heading towards the sky of Osiris, for he is
not a spirit of the realm of darkness, but of light. A strong invocation
of the protective deity of the king (Re-Atum) is at hand, and often
repeated.

Re-Atum will not give You to Osiris, and he will not
claim your mind, nor have power over your heart. Re-Atum will not give You
to Horus, and he will not claim your mind, nor have power over your heart.

O Osiris, You cannot control him, your son cannot control him !
O Horus, You shall never have power over him, nor shall your father have power
over him !spell 139 (215)

In spell 140, on the Nightboat of the Living One (Re), completely
encircled by the Duat, the king prays :

I have come to You, O Nephthys !
I have come to You, O Nightboat !
I have come to You, O Pilot-covered-in-Red !I have come to You, O Place-where-the Kas-are-remembered !
May You remember me, this King Unas !

Orion has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.
Sothis has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.
I, this King Unas, has become encircled by the Duat,
as the Living One became pure in the horizon.

I have become Akh for them !
I have grown cool for them !
Inside the arms of my father,
inside the arms of Atum !spell 140 (216)

With this prayer, the
midnight mystery begins. The divine king,
fully lucid in the Duat or "night-world" of Osiris, anticipates his final
transformation into a spirit inside the arms of his luminous father, and,
on the Nightbark upon which he travels, invokes the powers of the Duat to
assist his ascension. Orion & Sothis are Osiris & Isis, but the king is
pure as the Living One, i.e. Re-Atum.

In spell 141, the king actually unites with Atum in darkness,
reminiscent of the unio mystica between the "ba" of Re and the
"body" of Osiris in the Amduat, taking place at midnight. The
darkness alluded here is the "body of Osiris", remaining invisible but
primordial in terms of the everlastingness of matter. The divine king (as
will the Ba of Re in the Books of the Netherworld) unites with Atum "in
darkness" and then rises "as an Akh" in/on the horizon (suggestive of the
dynamics of the 12th Hour of the night, with Osiris remaining behind in
the everlasting darkness of the Duat).

So the encounter with the darkness of matter & night (Osiris) allows the
divine king to merge with the primordial light-ground (Atum). This is
clearly an ecstatic experience, "outside" the "normal" trappings of the
Duat, and the privilege of the king, by nature meant to be Solarized (an
Akh in the sky of Re) rather than Lunarized (an Akh in the sky of Osiris).

Spell 142 serves as a kind of "formal session" in which the divine king is
presented to Osiris and confirmed as the fledgling of the Ennead, an
imperishable Akh. All quarters and all skies confirm his status. Can Osiris
have good reason to keep the king in the Duat and hinder his emergence
from it to ascend to Re in the Eastern horizon ?

A literary break happens again. Spell 143 is a very long and interesting
litany which spills over to the Eastern Wall, inviting us to read the
sequence South-to-East-Wall. It starts by presenting the divine king to
twelve deities as "this Osiris here". Identified with Osiris, he is said
to "live", an affirmation repeated twenty-four times :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He
is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is not destroyed ! This King Unas
is not destroyed ! He has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been
judged ! He judges. This King Unas judges !spell 143 (219)This is first repeated to Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Isis, Seth,
Nephthys, Thoth, Horus, the Great Ennead & the Lesser Ennead and then
again repeated to twelve different manifestations of Osiris : Nunet
(personification of the tomb or the place where Osiris was buried),
Dweller in Heliopolis, Dweller in Busiris, Dweller in the Mansion of
Selket, Dweller in the divine booth, Him in the White Palace of Laurel
wood, Dweller in Orion, Dweller in Buto, Dweller in the Mansion of the
Eldest of Bulls, Dweller in Hermopolis of the South, Dweller in Hermopolis
of the North & Dweller in the Town of Lakes.

These two times twelve identifications of the divine king with deities
reminds of the double Heb Sed run of the divine king (one for the Delta &
one for the Valley), presenting himself as Osiris to the deities assembled
in their naos around the Heb Sed court. By doing so, he rejuvenated
himself, while bringing down the Solar power of Re-Atum, inviting the
other deities to make their souls & doubles inhabitants of their statues.

"... it is possible to confirm that the Early
Dynastic kings developed a special enclosure, which was used not only as a
funerary temple, but also as an area in which some festivals related to
the kingship were performed. (...) royal enclosures also had two different
uses : during the lifetime of the king enclosures were used as sacred
places where certain ceremonies were celebrated. (...) When the king died,
his enclosure became his funerary temple, as well as the public part of
his tomb. (...) The Egyptian kings developed a complex system of
ceremonies and rituals that served them as a form of expression before
society. As we have seen, the ways were also complex and varied, but so
effective that most of these festivals continued to be performed during a
period of more than three thousand years."Serrano,
2002, pp.100-101.

In the Sed festivals of the Late Predynastic and the First Dynasty, the
king ran between the Stone Markers and held a container in his hand with a
document called "that which founds the house". He stopped before the
shrine of Horus (Behedetite). Royal statues were made, signifying his
rebirth, the whole ceremony happening in an enclosure containing two
marked courtyards and numerous chapels with internal statue niches (Serrano,
2002, pp. 48 - 49).

In the royal cult, both Osiris and Re played vital roles, one for
everlasting night and one for eternal light.

IV

BURIAL-CHAMBER / East Wall (219 - 224)

CORONATION -
RETURN

143
(219)
Litany of identification with
the Living Osiris (continued)

provide yourself with it :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in the
Mansion of the Eldest of Bulls, may your arms be about the meal, your daughter,
provide yourself with it :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in Hermopolis of the South, may your arms be
about the meal, your daughter, provide yourself with it :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in Hermopolis of the North, may your arms be
about the meal, your daughter, provide yourself with it :

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

In your name of Dweller in the Town of Lakes. What You
have eaten, an Eye, your belly shall grow round from it, your son Horus
releasing it for You (so) that You may live from it.

He lives ! This King Unas lives ! He is not dead ! This King Unas lives ! He is
not destroyed ! This King Unas is not destroyed ! He
has not been judged ! This King Unas has not been judged ! He judges. This King Unas
judges !

Your body is the body of this King Unas, your flesh is the
flesh of this King Unas, your bones are the bones of this King Unas : You will go
(from life) should this
King Unas go. Should this King Unas go, You will go !

Service of the Crown
144(220) opening of the shrine
The doors of the horizon has been
opened, its bolts have drawn back.

by the priest to the crown

He has come to You, Red Crown !
He has come to You, Fiery Serpent !
He has come to You, Great
One !
He has come to You, Great of Magic, pure for You and fearing You !

May You be pleased with him, may You be pleased with his purity, and may You be
pleased with his speech when he says to You : "How fine You look, content, renewed, and rejuvenated,
for the god who is the father of the gods has given You birth !"

He has come to You, Great of Magic : he is Horus, encircled by the
protection of his Eye, the Great of Magic !
145(221) opening of the shrineprayer by the KingO Red Crown !
O Curl !
O Great Crown !
O Crown Great of Magic !
O Fiery Serpent !

Grant that the
dread of me be like the dread of You !
Grant that the fear of me be like the
fear of You !
Grant that the acclaim of me be like the acclaim of You !
Grant
that the love of me be like the love of You !
Set my Aba-scepter at the head of the
living, (set) my {Power-scepter} at the head of the Akhs, and
grant that my sword prevails over my foes.

O Curl !
{You} have emerged {in me, so have I emerged in You.}

reply
by the Red Crown

The Great Thing {has given You birth},
the Firstborn's Cobra Goddess Thing has adorned You,
the Firstborn's Cobra Goddess Thing has given You birth,
the Great Thing {has adorned You},
for You are Horus, encircled by the protection of his Eye !
Commendations to Re

146(222)
joining the ongoing circuit of Reby the priest

To say the words :You shall stand up on it, this Earth
{which issued from Atum, this spittle}, which issued from Kheprer. Evolve on it, become exalted on it,
and your father will see You, Re will see
You !

prayer by the King
I have come to You, my father,
I have come to You, O Re.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Downcast.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Fertilizer.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Rager.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Great Wild Bull.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Great Reedfloat-user.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Sopdu.
I have come to You, my father, I have come to You, O Sharp-teeth.
Grant that I, King Unas, may seize the Cool Waters and receive the horizon.
Grant that I may rule the Nine and provide for the Ennead.
Place the Crook in my hand, that the head of the Delta and the Nile Valley may be bowed.

I charge my opponent and stand up over the Great One as his greater,
(as) the one
Nephthys has blessed, for I have captured my opponent, (saying) :"You have provide yourself with the
Great of Magic, (as) Seth dwelling in Ombos, Lord of Upper Egypt. Nothing has
been is
lost to You, nothing has been <wanting> to You. For see, You are more Ba
and more in control than the gods of Upper Egypt and their Akhs,
You whom the Pregnant
One ejected, and You have <illumined> the night, equipped as Seth,
whose raw (testicles) were pulled off."
(As) one Isis has blessed, (saying) :
"You have provided yourself as Horus the Youthful ! Indeed, nothing is lost to You, nothing has <ceased> for You !
For see, You are more Ba and more in control than the gods of the North and their Akhs."

by the priest

Cast off your impurity for Atum in {Heliopolis and go down with him.} Assign the
<needs> of
the Lower Sky and succeed to the thrones of Nun.
You shall come into being
with your father Atum, You shall go up on high with your father Atum, You shall rise
with your father Atum, and may (your) <needs> be released from You.
Head to (Nut), the Lady of Heliopolis in the sedan chair. Go up, open your way by means of the bones of Shu,
that the inside of your mother Nut's arms may enfold You.
You shall become pure in the horizon and get
rid of your impurity in the Lakes of Shu.

Ascend and descend !
Descend
with Re, one of the dusk with the One Who Was Cast Down.Ascend and descend !
Ascend with Re, rise with the Great Float-user.
Ascend and descend !
Descend
with Nephthys, sink into darkness with the Nightboat.
Ascend and descend !
Ascend with Isis, rise with the Dayboat.

You shall have power over your
body, for You have no hindrance.
Having been born to (be) Horus, and conceived to (be)
Seth.
Having become pure in the Western nome, having received your purification in the
Bubastite
nome with your father, with Atum.

You have come into being, You have gone up on
high, and You have become effective. It has become pleasant for You inside your father's
arms, inside Atum's arms.

Atum, elevate this King Unas to You,
encircle him inside your arms, for he is your son of your body, forever.

Calling the King to return from the Duat

147(223) the King is called back

by the priest

Hey !
Turn around !
Ah ! Ah !

O King Unas !
Stand up and sit down to a thousand of bread, a thousand of
beer, roast meat, your rib-meat from the slaughterhouse, and pulled bread
from the broad hall.
As the god is provided with a divine offering,
King Unas is
provided with this his bread.
You have
come to your Ba, Osiris, Ba among the Akhu, in control in his places, whom the Ennead
tend in the Mansion of the
Prince.

O King Unas !
Elevate yourself up to me, betake yourself toward me :
do not be far
from me, tomb-dweller, and turn toward me.
I have given You the Eye of Horus.
I
have allotted it to You, may it <endure> for You with You.

O King Unas !
Arise, receive this your bread from my hand !
O King Unas !
I will be an attendant for You !

148(224)
happy & changed
by the priest

To say the words :
Hey, You King Unas !
Turn
about, You King Unas !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Horus !
You have gone, that
You may govern the Mounds of Seth !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of
Osiris !

An offering which the King grants to all your insignia wherever You may be
: your Lotus-bud scepter at the head of the living, your staff at
the head of the Akhs, as Anubis at the fore of the Westerners, as Andjeti at
the fore of the eastern nomes.

How happy is your condition as You become Akh, O King Unas, among your brothers the gods !
How changed !
How
changed, You whom your child tended.
Beware of your limit in the Earth.

"Put on your body and come to them !"
-four times-

Commentary

Spell 143, the theme is restoration by Osirification.
The divine king is presented to the gods as
Osiris. They, who will restore the king as they restored
Osiris. Osiris king Unas lives as Osiris and escapes judgement, for the
kingdom of Osiris is ruled by Osiris alone. Although in spell 142, the
divine king is first presented to Osiris, albeit as a divine Akh heading
to Re, he is immediately identified with the king of the Duat and enjoys
the restoration brought by the Eye of Horus. He is therefore the judge of
the dead and cannot be destroyed (like those with too heavy hearts, who
are eaten by Ammut, the Great Devouress).

Your body is the body of this King Unas, your flesh is the flesh of this King
Unas, your bones are the bones of this King Unas : You will go (from life)
should this King Unas go. Should this King Unas go, You will go !spell 143 (219)

During the Sed festival of the Late Predynastic Period & the First
Dynasty, the king wore the Red Crown (Serrano,
2002). In this period, this crown did not yet indicate a region (Nile
Valley, Upper Egypt), but "ritual valour" (p.48). During the pivotal
Wepwawet ritual of this festival, the king runs the ritual course under
the auspices of Wepwawet or Sed, who's standard is carried before the
king.

In spell 144 - 145, we find a short service of the crown. The priest
announces the coming of the divine king to the crown, called "Great in
Magic". The Festival Hall & the Stone Markers were the two fundamental
elements of every Sed festival. The divine kings ran the markers, but was
dressed in the Palace. The Festival Hall contained the Great Throne and
the Palace. Here, he changed costume & insignia, which was a ritual on its
own, involving the face-à-face between the divine king and the divine
crown, a deity in its own right.

The divine king merges with the crown and a direct link with the Cobra
Goddess of the Crown is made.

In spell 146, these rituals reminiscent of the Sed festival end by a
splendid hymn to the king joining the eternal, cosmic circuit of Re.
Although the divine king is clearly a living Osiris in the Duat as well as
a living Horus on Earth, his final aim is to join his divine father on his
Solar Boat and be his companion forever and ever, participating in his
eternal recurrent pattern of dusk, rebirth, dawn and dominion. Isis
affirms of the king "You are more Ba and more in
control than the gods of the North and their Akhs". In a certain
way, this colorful hymn to the Solar king preludes the
"cannibal hymn" on the East Gable of the
antechamber, when the king finally arrives in the sky of Re.

Because the sarcophagus room is Osirian, the majority of texts involve
offerings and the identification of the king with this deity of the night.
Because the king is divine, he gathers with Atum in darkness and
experiences the midnight mystery : light-out-of-darkness or regeneration.
The Osirian journey is followed by the ascension of the king to Re,
solarizing him as an Akh, a spirit. Likewise, the antechamber
(representing the solarizing horizon), contains Osirian funerary rituals.
The cosmic travel of the king returns as a feature in Hellenistic
mysteries, in Platonism, the Hermetic tradition, Plotinus and Hermeticism.
It also prefigured the ascension-myths of monotheism (cf. the
Chariot-mystics in Judaism, the Ascension of Jesus Christ and the ascent
of Mohammed to Heaven).

Balancing the foregoing Osirian identification of the king, this section
(142 - 146) ends with :

Atum, elevate this King Unas to You, encircle him inside your arms, for he
is your son of your body, forever.spell 146 (222)

Spells 147 & 148 give a twist to the story, and suggest, as
Naydler (2005) rightly points out, the
awakening of the king "from what would appear to be
a trancelike state, and ensuring the return of his spirit into his body"
(p.216).

"One way of understanding the position of this
utterance immediately after the mystical experiences described in the
previous utterances is that the latter actually took place while the king
was lying in trance on the lion bed in 'the tomb'. These mystical
experiences might then have been subsequently enacted in outwardly
performed ceremonies. But however we understand the relationship between
the rituals performed and the mystical experiences undergone, there is
little doubt that both the location and the mood of this utterance have
shifted dramatically from what has gone before. The location is no longer
cosmic, the mood has an unfamiliar urgency."Naydler,
2005, p.217.

Spell 147 ends with a formal instruction to each quarter :

Put on your body and come to them !spell 147 (223)

The South-to-East-Wall section (a total of 12 spells), started with :

O King Unas !
You have not gone away dead !
You have gone away alive !

Sit upon the throne of Osiris.
Your Power-scepter in your hand,
that You may give orders to the living.
Your Lotus-bud scepter in your hand,
that You may give orders to those whose seats are hidden. spell 137 (213)

The last spell (148), calling & awakening the king, also brings in the
insignia of his worldly & netherworldly authority, one extending over the
living, the spirit-world and the dead.

Hey, You King Unas !
Turn about, You King Unas !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Horus !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Seth !
You have gone, that You may govern the Mounds of Osiris !

An offering which the King grants to all your insignia wherever You may be
: your Lotus-bud scepter at the head of the living, your staff at the head of
the Akhs, as Anubis at the fore of the Westerners, as Andjeti at the fore of the
eastern nomes.spell 148 (224)Begin & end seem to form circle.

V

BURIAL-CHAMBER / East Gable
(204 - 205, 207, 209, 210 - 212)

FOODSPELLS TO REPLENISH THE KING AS A LIVING HORUS

The King eats the food of the gods
149(204) nourishment by Osiris
by the priest

The hoers rejoice, the heart of those who cleanse the
breast became fully uplifted, when they swallowed the
Eye of Horus, the healthy one which is in Heliopolis.

The little finger of King Unas, pulls out what is
in the navel of Osiris.
King Unas will not thirst, he will not hunger : it will not be against the heart
of
King
Unas. His arms drive away his hunger.

Become awash (with joy) !
Make the hearts full !

150(205) the Great Bull cared for
today

by the priest

To say the words :
O You who preside over the baked
foods.
O You who belong to the flood.
Commend
King Unas
to Fetekte, the cupbearer of Re, whom Re has commended to himself, that Re may
commend
him to the one in charge of provisioning for this year, that they may seize
barley and give him beer, that they may grasp emmer and give him bread.

For to King Unas, his father is the one who gave barley and beer, Re is the one
who gave emmer and bread.

For he is the Great Bull who smote Kenzet.
For
King Unas is he who has the five portions of bread, drink and cakes in the
enclosure : a triad is for the sky with Re and a pair is for the Earth with the Two Enneads.
He belongs to the one who was set loose : he is the one who was let loose. He
belongs to the one who is seen : he is the one who is seen.

O Re, it is better with him today than yesterday !
For King Unas has
mated with moisture.
King Unas has kissed dryness.
King Unas has joined with
fertility.
King Unas has copulated with the young girl of his care when grain and <fluids>
were absent, and the young girl of the care of King Unas is the one who will
give bread to King Unis and make it better for him today.

151(207) King Unas
calls to the Eye for a meal

by the King

To say the words :
A meal for me, O knife-sharpener !
A
meal for me, O knife-sharpener !
A meal, You in Re's Eye !
A meal for me, You with access to (Re's) boat, You in the God's-Eye (boat) !
O cupbearer, bring water !
Light the fire (for) a joint among the roast meat !
-4 handfuls of water-

152(209) King Unas is provided
with bread

by the priest

To say the words :
Shu is fresh !
King Unas does not acquire his things.
King Unas is fresh !
Shu does not acquire his things.

The eastern fetchers shall repeat :
"It is your bread."

153(210) King Unas is protected
against inversion

by the King

To say the words :
Awake, O Parter !
Be
high, O Thoth !
Awake, You sleepers !
Rise up, You dwellers in Kenzet, who are
before the Great Heron that comes from the {garden}, Path-Parter who comes from
the tamarisk.

My mouth is pure, the Two Enneads have censed
me, and pure indeed is this tongue which is in my mouth.

What I, King Unas, detest is
faeces.
I reject urine.
I detest my own abomination.
What I detest is these
two : I will never eat the abomination of these two, just as Seth rejects the
two <companions> that cross the sky.

Re and Thoth, take me
with You, that I, King Unas, may eat of what You eat, that I may drink of what You drink,
that I may live on what You live on, that I may sit on what You sit on, that I
may be strong through that whereby You are strong, that I may sail in that in
which You sail.

My pavilion is plaited with reeds, my drink-supply is in the Field
of Offerings, my food-offerings are among You, gods ; my water is wine like
that of Re, and I go round the sky like Re, I traverse the sky like Thoth.

154(211) King Unas is the source
of food

by the King

To say the words :
My detestation is hunger, and I, King Unas will never eat it !
My detestation is thirst, and I will never drink it !

It is indeed I who will give bread to those who exist, for my foster-mother is
the milk-goddess, and she will make it possible for me to live it is indeed she who bore me.

I was conceived in the night.
I was born in the night.
I belong to the Followers of Re,
who are before the Morning Star.
I was conceived in Nun.
I was born in Nun.
I have come and I have brought to You the bread of those I found there !155(212) King Unas eats & drinks
what
Horus lives on

by the King

To say the words :
The Eye of Horus drips on
the bush of the Denu-plant and Foremost of the Westerners came for it, having
fetched
provisions to Horus, foremost of the houses.
What he (Horus) lives on, I, King Unas live on !
What he eats of, I eat of !
What he drinks of, I drink of !
A joint of roast meat, that is my offering !

Commentary

The theme of these seven spells is the nourishment of
the king (after his Osirian ordeal ?). Spell 153, dealing with inversion,
reveals an interesting feature of the Duat : the netherworld is an
inverted world, an idea also found in Shamanism (Eliade,
1964) and in the Western Tradition (in the astral world, objects are also
reversed). The presence of spell 153 may indicate these meals were
netherworldly rather than actual, although this is not certain.

O Osiris King Unas, {turn yourself to this your
bread, accept it from me.}

To say the words four times : "May the Eye of Horus {endure} with You."
{the reversion} of divine offering-

157
(32)
pouring of libation under the
feetby the priest

This is your libation, Osiris.

This is your libation, O King Unas, have gone forth -libation & two
pellets of natron- to your son, have gone forth to Horus.

I have come and I bring You the Eye of Horus, that your heart may be
refreshed with it. I bring it to You under your feet.

Take the outflow that comes out from You. Your heart will not be weary
with it.

To say the words four times : "Come, (for) You have been invoked !"

158 (23) purification by water
by the priest

Osiris, seize all those who hate King Unas -pour
water- and who
speak evil against his name. Thoth, go, seize him for
Osiris. Bring him who speaks evil against the name of King Unas. Put him in
your hand.

To say the words four times :"Do not let go of him !
Beware, do not let go of
him !"-pour water-

159 (25)
censing Ka-rite

by the priest

Someone has gone with his Ka.
Horus has gone with his Ka.
Seth has gone with his Ka.
Thoth has gone with his Ka.

O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is behind You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is behind You !

O Osiris King Unas, I have given You the Eye of Horus !
May your face be adorned with it !
May the perfume of the Eye of Horus diffuse
over You !

160
(200)
glorification of the incense as the Eye of Horus

by the priest

Salutations to You,
incense !
Salutations to You, brother of the god !
Salutations to You, Great So-and-so in the
limbs of Horus !

You of great purity, spread yourself in your identity of the cake (of
incense) :
let your scent be on King Unas and purify King Unas.
O Eye of
Horus, be high and great toward King Unas !
-incense-

Commentary

The texts on the North Wall of the passage-way may well
"close" the offering sequence of the North Wall proper, while those of the
South Wall may be seen as belonging to the texts of the
South-to-East-Wall. As the direction of the texts reads from West to East,
they underline the momentum from the region of death (the West and the
sarcophagus room) to the region of ascension (the East and the
antechamber).

On the North Wall, the royal purification rituals return, while the
glorification of incense closes this section. Indeed, the act of rendering
something divine happened by censing it ("snTr" is a causative meaning "to
cense" but also to "consecrate"). The incense is identified with the Eye
of Horus.

This is the {firm} Eye of {Horus} !
It has been set for You that You may become strong and he may become
afraid of You
!
-smashing the redware-

162
(245)
the King is a star escaping Osiris

by the King

I, King Unas, have come to You, O Nut !
I have come to You, O Nut, having left my father on Earth, having left
Horus behind me, having grown wings as a falcon, feathered as a hawk, my Ba
having fetched him, his magic having equipped me.
by Nut

(O King Unas), You shall split open your place in the sky
among the stars of the sky, for You are the Lone Star, the companion of Hu. May
You look down upon the head of Osiris as he governs the Akhs, while You
yourself stand far from him.

You are not of them and You will not be of them !

163
(246)
standing at the door of the
horizon

by the priest

This King Unas stance as a ram with two wild-bull
horns on his head has been seen. For You are a black
ram, (King Unas), the son of a black ewe, whom a white ewe bore and
four teats suckled.

Blue-eyed Horus has come against You (gods) : beware of
red-eyed Horus ! The one with painful wrath - his Ba cannot be barred !

His
messengers have gone, his couriers have run, and they bear tidings to the One with
sweeping shoulders in
the East : "The one of yours has gone, of whom the god says that he will govern
the gods' fathers.
The gods shall grow
silent for You, the Ennead having put their hands to their mouth, before this
one of yours,
of whom the god says that he will govern the gods' fathers."

Stand at the doors of the horizon, (King Unas), open the doors of the Cool
Waters, and stand at the head, like Geb at the fore of his
Ennead.

They go in, they will smite down evil.
They come out, they will lift up their
face and see You as Min at the head of the Two Shrines.

Someone has stood up behind You, (Re) : your brother has stood up behind
You, the one You summoned has stood up behind You.
You will not perish, (King Unas) !
You will not cease !
Your name will <endure> among men,
even as your name comes to be with the gods !

Commentary

The South Wall begins with the ritual of smashing the
"red jars", symbolical of the destruction of the enemies of Horus (namely
Seth, associated with the color red). In spell 425 of the later Coffin
Texts, this smashing prepares a path for the deceased "to the place
where the great god is". In spell 160 (as in spell 139), the word
"so-and-so" indicates this spell had an "open" format, with the name of
the recipient to be "filled in". Apparently, the scribe forgot to
personalize it by filling in the name of king Unas. In spell 162, king
Unas affirms he leaves behind Osiris to reach for the stars, which is
about to happen when he emerges from the Duat.

(O King Unas), You shall split open your place in
the sky among the stars of the sky, for You are the Lone Star, the
companion of Hu. May You look down upon the head of Osiris as he governs
the Akhs, while You yourself stand far from him.

The King emerges from the Duat
164
(247)
Osiris King Unas risen by Horus : making an Akh
emerge from the Duat
by the priest

To say the words :
"Your son Horus has done this for You !"

The Great Ones will tremble,
having seen the knife which is in your
hand,
when You ascend from the Duat !

Greetings to You, O Wise One !
Geb has
created You !
The Ennead has borne You !

Horus has become pleased with his father !
Atum has become
pleased with his years !
The gods of East and West have become pleased with the great thing which came into being
in his embrace : the birth of the god !
by Horus

O King Unas, O King Unas, see !
O King Unas,
O King Unas, look !
O King Unas, O King Unas, hear !
O King Unas, O King Unas, be (there) !
O King Unas, O
King Unas, raise yourself from your side !So do as I command !
You who hate sleep, but
who were made limp.
Arise, You in Nedit !
Your good bread has been prepared
in Pe !
Take your control of Heliopolis !

It is Horus (who speaks), having been commanded to help his
father.
As for the Lord of Storm,
the one with spittle near him, Seth -
he
will bear You : he is the one who will bear Atum !

The true destiny of the King is Solar
165
(248)
King Unas' stellar destiny
revealed

by the priest

To say the words :
King Unas is a Great One !
King Unas has come out between the thighs of the Ennead.
King Unas was conceived by
Sekhmet, and Shezmetet bore the King,
a star with a sharp front and
far-travelling,
who brings what the above has for Re daily.
King Unas has come to his
throne with the Two Ladies on it.
King Unas has appeared as a star.

166
(249)
the Living Horus is the Solar
Child Nefertem

by the King

To say the words :
O You two fighters, tell the
Noble One, whoever he may be, that I, King Unas, am this water-lily which sprang up
clean from the Earth.
I have been received by him who prepared my throne.
I am at
the nose of the controlling power.
I have come from the Island of Fire.
I have set
Maat in it in the place of disorder.
I am on my way to the linen garments
which the Uraei guard on the night of the great flood which came forth from the
great goddess.
I appear as Nefertem, as the water-lily at the nose of Re, as he emerges from
the horizon daily, the one at the sight of whom the gods become cleansed !

167
(250)
the King as understanding and
wisdom in the Sunboat

by the priest

To say the words :
This is King Unas who is in charge of Kas, who unites hearts for the Great
One in charge of wisdom, the one who bears the divine scroll - Sia, at the
West of Re.
by the King

I, King Unas, have come to my throne which is in
charge of Kas.
I will join hearts, You in charge of wisdom, (being) great !
I will become Sia who bears the divine scroll,
who is at the West of Re, tended by my hand.
I say what is on the mind of the Great One on the Festival of the Red
Linen.

That is King Unas, I am Sia who is at the West of Re,
<reserved> of heart,
at the fore of the Cavern of Nun.

Final goodbye to the Duat
168
(251)
address of the King to the
stars & gods of the Duat

by the King

To say the words :
O You who are in charge of the hours,
who precede Re, make way for me so that I, King Unas, may pass within the
Circuit of Warlike-Face.

I am off to this throne of mine, foremost of thrones, (as) one who is behind the
<great> god, with a set head adorned with a sharp strong antelope horn, as
one who carries a sharp knife which cuts throats, (a horn) that removes
severs strife from head of the bull and makes those in darkness quiver, a strong horn behind the great god.

I
have subdued those who were caught, I have smitten their heart.
My arm cannot be opposed in the horizon.

The King merges with Re
169
(252)
the King united with Re

by the priest

To say the words :
Lift up your face, You gods in the Duat,
for King Unas has come
that You might see him changed into the great god.

King Unas is ushered in trembling.
King Unas is robed as Lord of You All !
King Unas will govern the people.
King Unas will judge
the living within the shore of Re.
King Unas will speak with Him who judged between the two gods at the clean shore in which
he has made his dwelling.
King Unas has
(the icon of) power on his head.
King Unas wields the Ames-staff and it causes respect for King Unas.
King Unas will sit with the rower of the bark of Re.
When
King Unas commands what is good, he will do it.
King Unas is the great god.

The Duat purified the King
170
(253)
the title of the King lifted up by Shu

by the priest

To say the words :
Someone has become clean in the
Field of Reeds !
Re has become clean in the Field of Reeds.

Someone has become clean in the Field of Reeds !
This King Unas has become clean in the Field of Reeds.
The title of this King Unas is given by Re.
O Nut, take his title !
O Shu, lift it up !
O Shu, lift it up !

Commentary

The antechamber represents a totally new state of
affairs, and its spells should therefore be read against this
hermeneutical background. At the end of the 12th Hour of the night, the
new light of the emerging Sun is already seen, heralding a triumphant
dawn. The Eastern horizon is a special place, where the transformation (by
ascension) of the Ba into an Akh occurs. This immortalizes the spirit. The
whole atmosphere breathes expectation, freshness, and the elation felt
when, at the end of a long, cold, dark night, luminosity & warmth slowly
return.

In the antechamber, a total of 60 spells are found : 7 spells discuss the
cosmic, Solar appearance of Osiris king Unas emerging from the Duat (West
Gable), 15 West-to-South-Wall texts dealing with the Horus-king in the
horizon (5 West Wall texts) and the ascent of the king via Osiris (10
South Wall texts). The ascension texts on the North Wall call for 11
spells, while the 3 texts on the East Gable have the "Cannibal
Hymn" and one protective spell introducing the East Wall. The
antechamber texts end with the 24 protective spells of the East Wall,
forming a magical circle with the West Gable of the burial-chamber.

The 7 spells of the West Gable (164 - 170) summarize the wisdom the divine
king acquired during the dark hours of travelling the Duat. He is a master
magician and so "an Osiris" in his own right. This is the case because he
is Solar and not Lunar, although the latter cannot be avoided. Just like
the Dynastic kings assimilated the power of the Great Goddess (cf. the Two
Ladies on the brow of his Nemes-crown), king Unas integrates the Duat in
himself. So although king Unas is "an Osiris", he is more : Osiris king
Unas is the son of Re and the living Horus-king.

In spell 164, king Unas emerges from the Duat as a living Osiris. This is
somewhat strange, for Osiris never leaves the Duat. Clearly this
indicates the king has assimilated the godform of Osiris, pointing to the
particular nature of the words "Osiris king Unas" (not mentioned here).
Although the god Osiris never leaves the Duat, king Unas does and so, as
"an Osiris", integrates the regeneration (rebirth) phase of his
spiritualization. As
Naydler (2005, p.234) indicates,
"Osiris could here be understood as the king's own
experience of himself as having journeyed into the spirit world".

Like Osiris, king Unas is awakened by Horus. Before Horus brought Osiris
his eye, the latter had been reconstituted by Isis & Thoth, but was
"sleeping" in the Duat. "Awakened" by his son Horus, he could rise to the
sky of the Duat as an Akh. The same event is associated with king Unas.
Osiris king Unas awakens from the "sleep" of the Duat, to be reborn as a
Solar "Horus-child".

Spells 165- 167 explain why king Unas has that privilege : he is the son
of Re ! He is Horus, the living power of his father (Osiris) on Earth. He
is a Great One, appearing like a star. He transcends the old order of the
two rivals, the battle between Seth & Horus (reminiscent of the
Predynastic battles between the Southern nomes and between the unified
South and the North), and unites the land.

O You two fighters, tell the Noble One, whoever he may be, that I, King Unas, am
this water-lily which sprang up clean from the Earth.
I have been received by him who prepared my throne.
I am at the nose of the controlling power.
I have come from the Island of Fire.
I have set Maat in it in the place of disorder.
I am on my way to the linen garments which the Uraei guard on the night of the
great flood which came forth from the great goddess.
I appear as Nefertem, as the water-lily at the nose of Re, as he emerges from
the horizon daily, the one at the sight of whom the gods become cleansed !spell 166 (248)

This direct, filial association with Re-Atum is then linked to the divine
mind :

I, King Unas, have come to my throne which is in
charge of Kas.
I will join minds, You in charge of wisdom, (being) great !
I will become Sia who bears the divine scroll,
who is at the West of Re, tended by my hand.
I say what is on the mind of the Great One on the Festival of the Red
Linen.spell 167 (250)

In spell 168, the divine king leaves the Duat behind and nothing can
oppose him in the horizon.

Lift up your face, You gods in the Duat,
for King Unas has come
that You might see him changed into the great god.
King Unas is ushered in trembling.
King Unas is robed as Lord of You All ! (...)
King Unas is the great god. spell 169 (252)

Finally, in spell 170, the divine titulary of the king ends this section.
The Duat has purified king Unas, he has become clean in the Field of Reeds
of Osiris.

VIII

ANTECHAMBER / West Wall (254 - 258 & 260)

THE HORUS-KING ACQUIRES THE
HORIZON

The King as Horus of the South (Hierakonpolis)

171
(254)
Horus the King confirmed at the
entrance of the horizon

by the priest

The Great One will be censed
for the Bull of Nekhen, and
the flame of the blast will be toward You who are around the
shrine.

by the King

O great god whose name is unknown !
A meal in place for the Sole Lord !
O Lord of the Horizon, make
ready a place for me, King Unas !
For if You fail to make ready a place for me, I will lay a
curse on my father Geb, (saying) : "The Earth will speak no more. Geb has no
<guard>."
Whoever I find in my way, I will devour.
The pelican will prophesy !
The Sunshine bird will go up !
The
Great One will arise !
The Enneads will speak (saying) :
"The Earth being entirely dammed up, for the mountain ranges on either
side of the river have been joined together and the river-banks have been united,
the roads have been made impassable to travellers, and the slopes have
been destroyed for those who would go up !"

by the god with the great plow
The rope has been guided, the
<beaten path> crossed and the ball struck at the mouth of the Apis's
canal.

Oho ! Your fields are in
fear, You Climbing Star, before the Pillar of the Stars, for they have seen the
Pillar of Kenzet, the Bull of the Sky, and the Oxherd shall be overwhelmed upon
its stem.

Oho ! Fear and trembling shall descend upon the Knife-Bearers before the storm of the sky,
for he has parted the Earth by means of what he knew, on the day when he wished to
come - so says the god with the great plow who is in the midst of the Duat.

by the Beautiful West
See, she comes to meet You, the goddess of the Beautiful West, meeting You with her lovely tresses
!

She says:
"Here comes he whom I gave birth, whose horn is upstanding, eye-painted
pillar, the Bull of the Sky ! Your shape is notable ! Pass in peace, for I have
protected You." - so says the Beautiful West to King Unas.
by Thighs-Forward
"Go, row to the Field of
Offerings and travel to Him who is on his high tree.", so says
Thighs-Forward.
"You plow into the Earth to your thickness, to your middle, to your
shoulders.
You shall see Re in his fetters, You shall praise Re in his loosing from fetters by
means of the aegis of the Great One, which is in its red linen. The
Lord of Peace is giving You your {title}."

by the King

OYou apes who
cut off heads, I, King Unas, will pass by You in peace, for I have tied my head to my
neck, and my neck is on my torso in this my name of Head-Tier, by means
of which I tied the head of Apis on that day when the longhorned bull was lassoed.

Since I have allowed them <to eat> from their cups and drink from
their inundation, so shall I be protected in the same by those who see me.

The jubilation uraeus, Tefnut of King Unas, who supports Shu, is on her
electrum staff, widening my place in Busiris, in Mendes, and in Djedut,
erecting dual standards in front of the Great Ones, excavating a pool for me
in the Field of Reeds, and confirming my farmland in the Field of Offerings.

I will give judgment between the two contestants in the Great Immersion,
for my power is the
power of the Eye of Tebi, my strength is the strength of the Eye of Tebi.

I have protected myself from those who would do this against me, who
would take away my food from me, who, when it was there, would take my supper
from me and who, when it was there, would take the breath from my nose and who
would bring to an end my days of life.

My force will be against them, when he is apparent on my shore. Their hearts
will fall to my fingers, their entrails are
for the denizens of the sky, their red parts are for the denizens of the Earth ! Their
heirs are to be poor, their houses to conflagration, and their
courtyards to the high Nile !

But my heart is sweet, my heart is sweet, for I am the unique one, the
Bull of the Sky, for I have crushed those who would do this against me and have
annihilated their survivors.

That which appertains to my throne, (that) which I have taken and lifted
up, is this which my father Shu gave me in the presence of Seth !

172
(255)
the King subdues the Hateful
One

by the priest

To say the words :
The horizon will be censed for
Horus of Nekhen !
A meal for the Lords !
The horizon will be censed for Horus of
Nekhen !
The flame of <its> blast will be <toward You> who are around the shrine !
The outburst of its blast will be toward You who raise up the Great One
!
The horizon will be censed for
Horus of Nekhen !
A meal for the Lords !
by the King

{O You Hateful One}, hateful of character
and hateful of shape, remove yourself from your place and lay your insignia of
rank on the ground for me.

If You do not remove yourself from your place {and
lay your insignia of rank on the ground} for me, then I, King Unas, will come, my face being
that of this Great One, the Lord of Power who is strong through the injury which
was done to him.

I will put {flame in my Eye}, and it will encompass You and set
storm among the doers of (evil) deeds, gushing its (fiery) outburst among these
primeval ones. I will smite away {the arms of Shu which support the sky} and I
will thrust my shoulder into that rampart on which You lean.

The Great One indeed will rise within his shrine {and lay his insignia on
the ground for} me, for I have assumed authorative speech and have power through
understanding.

173
(256)
the King on the throne of
Horus

by the King

To say the words :
I, King Unas, have succeeded to Geb !
I
have succeeded to Geb !
I have succeeded to Atum !
I am on the throne of Horus
the first-born !
His Eye is my strength !
I am protected from what was done
against him.
The flaming blast of my Uraeus is that of Renenutet on my head.
I
have set the fear of me in their hearts by making strife with them.
I have seen the gods
naked and bowing to me in adoration.
Row me, O mother of mine !
Tow me, O abode of mine !
Haul your cable !

174
(257)
the King breaks through the
canopy of the sky

by the priest
To say the words :
There is excitement in the sky :
"We saw something new !", say the primeval gods.
O You Ennead, Horus is in the
Sunlight !
Let the Lords of Forms terrorize for him.
Let Atum's Dual Ennead serve him as he sits on the throne of the Lord of
All.

King Unas will acquire the sky, and cleave its iron.
King Unas will lead <on> the roads
to Kheprer.
When
King Unas rests in life in the West,
those of the
Duat attend him.
When
King Unas shines anew in the East,
he who settled the
dispute will come to him bowing.

The gods will terrorize for King Unas,
since he is older than the Great One and belongs to the control of his throne.
King Unas will assume authorative speech.
Eternity shall be brought to him.
Understanding shall be placed for him at his feet.
Haul (the sky-boat) for King Unas,
for he has acquired the horizon.

The King as a Living Osiris175
(258)
the Horus King is an Osiris
headed to the sky of Re

by the priest

To say the words :
King Unas is Osiris in a
dust-devil.
Earth is his detestation !
King Unas will not enter into Geb, lest his bones perish and lest he sleep
in his mansion upon Earth ; his bones are {made strong}, his ills are
removed.
King Unas has become pure through the Eye of Horus.
His ill has been removed by the two Kites of Osiris.
King Unas has shed his outflow to
Earth in Qus.

It is his sister (Wadjet), the Lady of Pe, who laments him, (saying) :
"King Unas goes to the sky !
King Unas goes to the sky !
On the wind !
On the wind !
He shall not be turned away, and there is none who will turn away from him.
He shall not sit in the tribunal of the god."

King Unas is the one who is
<on his own>, the eldest of the gods : his bread-offering is for above with Re, his
feast is from Nun !
King Unas is the one who goes to and fro, coming and going
with Re and embracing his mansions.
King Unas will bestow Kas and take away
Kas.
He will impose an obstacle and remove an obstacle.
King Unas will spend day
and night appeasing the Two Adzes (Horus & Seth) in Hermopolis.
His foot will not be opposed, his heart cannot be barred.

The King is a Living Horus176
(260)
the King is a Living Horus
vindicated by the Two Truths

by the King

To say the words :
OGeb !
Bull of Nut !
I, King Unas, am Horus, the heir of my father.
I have gone and came back, the fourth of these four gods who have brought water,
who have administered purification,

Commentary

The section defined by spells 171 - 174, deals with the
living Horus and its funerary connotations are meager.

In spell 171, the longest spell on the West Wall, the king is referred to
as the Bull of Nekhen. Hierakonpolis, situated to the South of Abydos, was
a major center of Horus worship. He demands to enter the horizon and
threatens, if he receives no place by the Lord of the Akhet, to lay a
curse and cause calamities. Apparently, because of his understanding &
Great Speech, the king is also a powerful magician able to cause havoc.

The stars urge him to travel to Re's Field of Offerings (or Field of
Peace). He is the bull of the sky, and the Lord of Peace (Re) himself
gives king Unas his title. Both the Duat as the Lord of the Horizon
welcome him and allow him entrance and safe passage.

Spell 172 also begins by affirming to horizon is censed for king Unas,
Horus of the South. Next, the king threatens to cause cosmic mayhem if he
is opposed. The context of Horus is clearly confrontational and offensive.
The Horus-king is powerful because of the injury done to him and because
he has understanding (Sia) and speaks with authority (Hu).

Next, in spell 173, the triumphant enthronement of the Horus-king happens.
The sky is personified by Re-Atum, the Earth by Geb. The gods are
completely known by the king (naked) and only he is able to unite heaven &
Earth, the above & the below. In spell 174, king Unas triggers the
excitement of the citizens of the sky, the primeval deities. It is clear
the king has to travel by way of the Duat, but those of the netherworld
attend him. He enters the Duat in the West, to emerge renewed in the East
(cf. the Amduat). The "eternity" brought to him,
is the eternal recurrence ("neheh") which defines the cycle of Re
(to be distinguished from the everlastingness -djedet- of Osiris), and of
which the king becomes part. Together with his father, he descends &
ascends (cf. supra).

There is excitement in the sky :
"We saw something new !", say the primeval gods.
O You Ennead, Horus is in the Sunlight !
Let the Lords of Forms terrorize for him.
Let Atum's Dual Ennead serve him as he sits on the throne of the Lord of
All.
King Unas will acquire the sky, and cleave its iron.
King Unas will lead <on> the roads to Kheprer.
When King Unas rests in life in the West,
those of the Duat attend him.
When King Unas shines anew in the East,
he who settled the dispute will come to him bowing.
The gods will terrorize for King Unas,
since he is older than the Great One and belongs to the control of his throne.
King Unas will assume authorative speech.
Eternity shall be brought to him.
Understanding shall be placed for him at his feet.
Haul (the sky-boat) for King Unas,
for he has acquired the horizon.spell 174 (257)

In spell 175, the scene changes. The king is no longer identified with
Horus, but again with Osiris. In fact, this spell summarizes the spiritual
Duat-journey of king Unas while he has not yet entered Geb, i.e. still on
Earth ! The king is able to transfer his consciousness to the Duat, is not
judged there and immediately moves to Re. He returns from this
"Osiris-experience" (Naydler,
2005, p.251), and bestows or takes away vital powers (the Kas), again
proof of the king's extended magical powers ("Sia", "Hu", "Heka" and
"Maat" are the four aspects of the divine mind of the supreme creator-god
Re-Atum, the Lord of All, in which king Unas participates). The aspects of
transfer, non-judgement, acquiring the horizon and ascension are typical
for the "ideal" process of spiritualization. Whenever he wants, the king
returns from Re's mansions ...

...
King Unas is the one who goes to and fro, coming and going with Re and
embracing his mansions.spell 175 (258)

The West Wall ends with the beginning of spell 176, spilling over to the
South Wall.

IX

ANTECHAMBER / South Wall (260 - 263, 267 - 272)

ON HIS WAY TO THE SKY

176
(260)
the King is a Living Horus
vindicated by the Two Truths (continued)

who have rejoiced in the strength of their
fathers, one who desires to be vindicated by what he has done.

For judgment between the
orphan and the orphaness has been made for me. The Two Truths have heard (the
case), while
Shu was witness and the Two Truths commanded that the thrones of Geb
revert to me, so that I raise myself to what I have desired, my limbs
-which were in concealment- join, I unite those who are in Nun and
put a stop to the affair in Heliopolis.

Now that I go forth today in the real form of a
living Akh, I shall break up the fight and punish strife. I
have come forth for Maat, (so) that I may bring her, she being with me. Wrath
will depart for me and those who are in Nun will assign life to
me.

O You southern,
northern, western, and eastern gods, honour me and fear me, for I sat down in
the <pavilion> of the dual courtyards. That effective uraeus Djenenutet
will burn for You, and strike your hearts.

O You who would come against me
in obstruction, come to me, come to me !
I am the very person of
my father, the bud of my mother.
I detest travelling in darkness, for then I
cannot see those who are upside down.
I go forth today that I may bring Maat,
for she is with me.
I will not be given to your flame, O You gods.

177
(261)
the King is a Lightning Flash

by the priest

To say the words :
King Unas is woe to the heart,
the son of the heart of Shu, extensively extended and with a terrible brilliance
!
King Unas is a
flame (burning) before the wind, to the end of the sky and to the end of the Earth,
when the hand of the lightning bolts have become empty of King Unas.
King Unas will traverse Shu, travel the horizon, and kiss the Red Crown as one hurled by a god.
Those who are in <the firmament> will open their arms to him.
King Unas will stand up on the eastern side of the quartz of rain, and there is brought to him
a way of ascent to the sky.
It is he who does the mission of the Stormy One
(Seth).

The Horus-king in the afterlife178
(262)
the King remind the deities
he knows them

by the King

To say the words :
Be not unaware of me, O god,
since You know me, I know You.
And I know You !

Be not unaware of me, O Re.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Re.
I call You : "Great of Provision, Lord of All !"

Be not unaware of me, O Thoth.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Thoth.;
I call You : "He Who Sets Alone !"

Be not unaware of me, O Sharp Horus.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Sharp Horus.
Know me, for I know You.
I call You : "The Difficult One !"

Be not unaware of me, O Dweller in the Duat.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Dweller in the Duat.
I call You : "He Who Wakes Sound !"

Be not unaware of me, Sky Bull.
Know me, for I know You.
Be not unaware of me, O Bull of the Sky.
I call You : "This One Who Endures !"

Behold, I have come !
Behold,
I have come !
Behold, I have emerged !

I have not come of my own accord, a message having come for me. I have passed by my House of
my Ba, the striking power of the Great Lake has missed me.

There is no one who requires my fare for the
great ferry.
There is no one who bars me from the White Palace of the Great Ones at the
Beaten Path of Stars - for look, I have reached the height of
heaven.

I have seen the cobra in the Nightboat, and it is I who row in it. I
have recognized the uraeus in the Dayboat, and it is I who bail it out. The
Sun-folk have testified concerning me. The hailstorms of the sky have taken me
(so) that they might raise me up to Re.

179
(263)
the spirits of the dead meet
the King

by the King

To say the words :
The two reed floats of the sky have been
set in place for Re,
that he might cross on them to the horizon.
The two reed floats of the sky have been set in place for Horus of the Horizon,
that Horus of the Horizon might cross on them to Re.
The two reed floats of the sky have been set in place for me,
that I, King Unas, might cross on them to the horizon, to Re.
The two reed floats of the sky have been set in place for me,
that I might cross on them to Horus of the Horizon and to Re.

It has become well with me and my Ka !
I will live with my Ka !
My panther-skin is on
me.
My Ames-staff is on my arm.
My Aba-scepter is in my hand.

Those who have gone way have missed me.
They will bring me these four Akhs, the Elders who are at
the head of the wearers of the side-lock, who stand in the eastern side of the
sky and who sweep away with their electrum staves, that they may tell my good name to Re and
announce me to Kas-Assigner, (saying) : "Greet this King Unas' entrance into the
North of the Field of
Reeds. Let King Unas across the Winding Canal. He is ferried over to the eastern side of the horizon !
He is ferried over to the
eastern side of the sky ! His sister is Sothis ! His female sibling is the
Morning Star !"

180
(267)
leaving Osiris behind and
crossing he horizon

by the King

To say the words :
You have your heart, O Osiris !
You have your legs, O Osiris !
You have your arms, O Osiris !
(So too) my
heart is my own !
My legs are my own !
My arms are my own !

A stairway to the sky
is set up for me that I, King Unas,
may ascend on it to the sky.
I will ascend on the smoke
of the great censing.
I will fly up as a bird and alight
as a beetle.
When
I will fly up as a bird and alight as a beetle,
it will be in the empty throne
in your bark, O Re !

Stand up, remove yourself, O You who do not know
the thicket of reeds (of the horizon), that I may sit in your place.
I will row in the sky in your
bark, O Re.
I will push off from the land in your bark, O Re !

When You are emerging from the horizon, I, with my scepter in my arm, will be
the one sailing your bark, O Re, (so) that You may ascend to the sky and
(I may) go away from the land, away from wife and kilt.

181
(268)
the Royal Ka of the King
comes to him

by the priest

To say the words :
This King Unas will wash himself when Re appears and the Elder Ennead shines.
Should he of Ombos become high at the head of the conclave, (then) this King Unas
will take over the nobles as a limb of himself, and this King
Unas will seize hold of the Great White Crown from the hands of the Two Enneads.

Isis {will nurse him.
Nephthys will
suckle him.}
Horus {will accept him} beside him at his two fingers,
purify this King Unas in the Jackal Lake, and
release the Ka of this King Unas in the Lake of the Duat.
He will purge the flesh of the Ka of this King Unas and of his body by means of that which is on
the shoulders of Re in the horizon, which he receives when the Two Lands shine and he
opens the faces of the gods.
He will conduct the Ka of this King Unas to his body at the Great Mansion.

The portals will act for him, the Curl (of the Red
Crown) will be tied on for him and this
King Unas will guide the Imperishable Stars !
He will ferry across
to the Fields of Reeds with those who are in the horizon rowing him and those who are
in the firmament sailing him.
This King Unas will become truly efficient, and his arms will not fail.
This King Unas will become truly excellent, and his Ka will reach him !

182
(269)
censing prayer, ascension and
sweet milk
by the King

To say the words :
The fire is laid, the fire
shines.
The incense is laid on the fire, the incense shines.
Your scent has come to me, O incense,
may my scent come to You, O incense.
Your scent has come to me, You gods,
may my scent come to You, You gods.

I, King Unas, shall be with You, gods ;
You shall be with me, gods.
I, King Unas, live with You, gods ;
You shall live with me, gods.
I, King Unas, shall love You, gods ;
love me, gods.
ascension
The wafer has come, the cap that comes from the knee of Horus has come :
the ascender has come, the ascender has come ;
the climber has come, the climber has come ;
he who flew up has come, he who flew up has come !

I will ascend upon the thighs of Isis !
I will climb up upon the thighs of Nephthys !
My father Atum will seize my hand for me,
and allot me to those excellent and wise gods :
the Imperishable Stars !

sweet milk

My mother Ipy, give me that breast of yours, that I may
apply it to my mouth and suck this white, gleaming, sweet milk of yours.

As for
yonder land in which I walk, I will neither thirst nor hunger in it, forever !

183
(270)
summoning Osiris as the
celestial ferryman

by the priest

To say the words :
Awake in peace !
Face Behind Him, in peace !
Sees Behind Him, in peace !
Ferryman of the sky, in peace !
Ferryman of Nut, in peace !
Ferryman of the gods, in peace !
by the King
I have come to You that You
may ferry me across in this ferryboat in which You ferry the gods.
I have come
to his side, just like a god coming to his side.
I have come near to his side, just like a god coming near to his side.
There is no one living who makes
accusation against me.
There is no one dead who makes accusation against me.
There is no duck which makes accusation against me.
There is no longhorned bull which makes
accusation against me.

So, if You should not ferry me over, I will leap up and put
myself on the wing of Thoth, and he will ferry me over to yonder side.

184
(271)
raising the
Djed-Pillar

by the King

To say the words :
I, King Unas, am the land-swimmer that came forth from the lake.
I am a fresh water-lily.
It is I, be
satisfied, Two Lands.
It is I, unite, Two Lands.
It is I, join together, my mother
the great wild cow, on the hill of grass and my mother, the female wild cow on
hill of the stork.

Stand up, You two Djed-pillars, and descend, You crossbars, that I may ascend on this ladder which my
father Re made for me.

Horus and Seth shall take hold of my arm and take me away from the
Duat.
You with the eye-injury,
beware of him with the command ;
You with the command,
beware of him with the eye-injury.

The face of the god is open to me,
and I sit on the great throne beside the god.

185
(272)
opening the Gate of Nun

by the King

To say the words :
O Height that will not be penetrated, Gate of Nun, I, King Unas, have come to You,
have this opened to me !
by the gate
Is King Unas the little one in it ?
by the King

I am at the
head of the Followers of Re !
I am not at the head of the gods who make disturbance !

Commentary

The living Horus-king

This South Wall section (spells 176 - 185) brings into perspective both
life (spells 176 - 177) & afterlife (spells 178 - 184) of the Horus-king
(with spell 185 acting as transition to the crucial North Wall). Clearly,
on Earth, his role was to end strife and bring Maat to Egypt. This he did
with the help of his Eye, the Left Eye of Horus restored by Thoth. He goes
forth (on Earth, as a king) in the real form of a living Akh, intended to
end & punish strife. As a magician, he is in touch with those in Nun, the
everlasting, primordial & abiding ground of everything.

Now that I go forth today in the real form of a living Akh, I shall break
up the fight and punish strife. I have come forth for Maat, (so) that I
may bring her, she being with me. Wrath will depart for me and those who
are in Nun will assign life to me.
My refuge is my Eye !
My protection is <my> Eye !
My strength is my Eye !
My power is my Eye !
O You southern, northern, western, and eastern gods, honour me and fear
me, for I sat down in the <pavilion> of the dual courtyards. That
effective uraeus Djenenutet will burn for You, and strike your hearts.spell 176 (260)

In spell 177, his terrible brilliance and power are again invoked.

Those who are in <the firmament> will open their arms to him.
King Unas will stand up on the eastern side of the quartz of rain, and
there is brought to him a way of ascent to the sky.spell 177 (261)
The Horus-king in the afterlife
Ex hypothesis, the litany of spell 178 is spoken by the king in the
afterlife. The deities are reminded not to forget him. This time, he
enters not in the godform of Osiris, but with his "noble body", i.e. his
ritual, mummified body activated by the funerary ceremonies. After
physical death, the "net" of the body (cf.
The
Discourse of a Man with his Ba), is broken, and the various
subtle components of the king (his Ka & Ba, but also his shadow, name &
"Ib" or heart) are released and should not be lost ...

In this process, Ka, Ba & Ib are essential.

The king is divine. So what happens to him after his net is broken is
extraordinary. Propelled towards the sky, he encounters opposition, but is
able to overwin. He leaves the Duat and is spiritualized in the Akhet, the
horizon. His afterlife circumstances are very optimistic. The divine
nature of the king assists him in every way to ascend to his father, being
transformed, in the Akhet, into an Akh by merging Ba and Ka.

Regarding the Ib, the king is not judged. Hence, his heart balances Maat
from the beginning. The king is one with Re who is before the beginning,
before Maat came into being (she does not exist in the
Nun
nor in the Zep Tepi, the first time). Re withdrew in his own (Solar)
order, making creation exists separately, mostly ruled by a Osirian
(Lunar) jurisdiction (cf.
The Heavenly Cow). In the later texts
(cf. supra) we read how the heart of the deceased is placed on one of the
scales of the balance of Maat. The heavy heart will tilt it, destroying
the heart. Without coordination, will & mind, the Ka and Ba of the
deceased wander aimlessly and become less and less efficient. Eventually,
they perish. King Unas will never face this. Because of his divine status,
his heart will never be annihilated.

The Ba of the divine king is his power of migration, his dromomania, the
power of momentum and movement. The Ba initiates the process of
transformation, seeks it out, will try to move upward, up to the
Northern sky by way of the Eastern horizon (reached from the North of the
Field of Reeds), encountered at the end of the night. In the Old
Kingdom, only the divine king had a Ba, a principle of spiritual
transformation. Not an entity, the Ba indicates a dynamical process, a
wandering and moving from here to there, albeit conform the eternal
recurrent Solar cycle of descending & ascending. The regeneration of the
Ba (midnight mystery) is the great mystery of Osiris, his restoration by
the Eye of Horus, and the power of the Horus-king, stronger because of the
injury done to him. As it was done to Horus when Seth tore out the Left
Eye of Horus and crushed it, king Unas will also be restored and restore
Osiris as Horus did. The power of the Eye of Horus is the ultimate magic.

In the horizon, the Ba (moving from the West of the burial-chamber to the
East of the antechamber) & Ka (moving from the East of the Ka-chapels to
the West of the antechamber), meet and merge in the middle of the
antechamber (positioned directly below the apex of the pyramid).
Igniting the renewed (reinstated) Ba, with the Kas of the divine king
(activated by the rituals performed in sanctuary of the temple), achieves
greater momentum to flawlessly ascend. This is the transformation of the
Ba into an Akh, for that what has been a Ba arrives in heaven as an Akh.
The capacity of the divine, wise & magical king to ever ascend to his
father and return to Earth (either in his body -while in life- or to his
mummy -while in the afterlife-) is evidenced by the "horizon" of the
shrine of his daily prayers (to Re), evidencing the face-to-face
confrontation, in the remote twilight of the Temple, of the king with the
cult statue.

King Unas repeats "Know me, for I know You.", reminding them of his former
spiritual work with them. With great confidence king Unas enters the dark
realm of the afterlife. He has skill and understanding, and commands with
great authority all magical powers of creation, also in the Duat. He is
not worried the forces of Osiris will try to overthrow him. All opposition
has long gone, for Unas is very clear :

There is no one who requires my fare for the great ferry.
There is no one who bars me from the White Palace of the great ones at the
Beaten Path of Stars - for look, I have reached the height of heaven.spell 178 (262)

The spirits of the dead meet king Unas (spell 179), in particular his Ka,
which brings him great spiritual joy. This first encounter with the Ka,
exactly in the middle of the South Wall, opposing the North Corridor,
gives strength, joy, life and wellness to the Ba, propelling it evermore
to rise.

It has become well with me and my Ka !
I will live with my Ka !
My panther-skin is on me.
My Ames-staff is on my arm.
My Aba-scepter is in my hand.spell 179 (263)

The spirits welcome king Unas with great respect & reverence and make it
clear he moves from the North of the Field of Reeds (of Osiris) to the
East of the horizon & the sky (of Re) :

Greet this King Unas' entrance into the
North of the Field of Reeds.
Let King Unas across the Winding Canal.
He is ferried over to the eastern side of the horizon !
He is ferried over to the eastern side of the sky !
His sister is Sothis !
His female sibling is the Morning Star !spell 179 (263)

In spell 180, he affirms being distinct from Osiris. Various metaphors try
to catch the upward movement, but the most remarkable affirmation is :

When I will fly up as a bird and alight as a beetle,
it will be in the empty throne in your bark, O Re !spell 180 (267)

The "empty throne" indicates Re expects Unas and, insofar as he is his
incarnation, the king sits on the Solar throne ! What an optimism. But the
voyage is a solitary one. Nobody is as this king Unas : a Living Osiris, a
Horus-king in this life and in the afterlife and by nature the unique,
sole "son of Re". In 181, king Unas again celebrates the presence of his
Ka.

This King Unas will become truly efficient, and his arms will not fail.
This King Unas will become truly excellent, and his Ka will reach him !spell 181 (268)

Thanks to the Ka, the Ba of Unas, or Unas himself, transforms to become
omnipotent ("truly efficient"), unfailing. The Ka of king Unas is fed by
millions of recurrent offerings, and his magic is sustained by the
everlasting efficiency of the sacred spells. Even if the offerings in the
temple above stop, and the Ka cannot derive power from these rituals, the
"heka" of the hieroglyphs is unfailing and lasts as long as they exist. By
itself, the Ka is a field of power, an accumulation of efficient magical
(unstoppable) energy. On its own, this Sa-field of power is quite useless,
but to feed the deities and to interact with their Bas, it allows the
latter to become very efficient.

During life, the Ka (or vital principle) is linked with
the Khat or physical body. Death releases the Ka and initiates the journey
of the Ba in the Duat. The energy of the Ka derived from the spirit world,
held by the ancestors. The Ba is gratified by the offerings made to the
Ka, and these offerings temporarily substitute the body and allow the Ka
to remain near the mummy. Then, encountering the Ka in the afterlife, the
transformation of the Ba happens.

In the last spells of this section (182 - 184), the ascension of the king
is likened to incense moving upward. In Ancient Egypt, and also later in
Greco-Roman Paganism as well as in the Divine Cult of the Emperor, incense
was the key ingredient of worship. The Catholic Empire established, it was
also introduced in the Catholic Ritual, for like incense, prayers ascend
before the Throne of the Most High.

Receiving the milk of the goddess is another image conveying the divine
status of the king. The hippopotamus goddess Ipy had a strong association
with the northern stars and with protected childbirth. The suckling of
Unas takes place at the point around which the celestial sphere turns. The
goddess is usually portrayed with her left hand resting on the Sa symbol
of protection, but in the form of the constellation of the celestial
hippopotamus, and because of her cosmic centrality, her left hand rests on
a mooring post, symbolical of the stability of the whole universe (the
constellation corresponds to the modern constellation Draco, which in
Ancient Egyptian times corresponded to the North Celestial Pole). Unas'
suckling preludes his illumination or celestial transformation and shows
he is about to become a "child" of the Imperishables.

The king calls for the ferryman and is clear about his own status :

I have come to his side, just like a god coming to his side.
I have come near to his side, just like a god coming near to his side.spell 183 (270)

In spell 184, an alternative is offered : the Djed Pillars are used as a
ladder. The Djed Pillars are a combination of (a) the four "world" pillars
supporting the four corners of the Earth, (b) a tree with lopped branches,
and (c) a human spinal column. It probably depicts a bundle of papyrus
stalks tied together, and represented Hathor, "pregnant" of the king. Its
origin was forgotten and later Egyptians though it to be the backbone of
Osiris.

The ritual of the Raising the Djed Pillar, took place at
Memphis on the eve of the coronation of the kings and at their
Sed festivals. Aided by a number of priests, the king raised a Djed pillar
from the ground with ropes and placed it in an erect position. The
significance of the ceremony is indicated by the word "djed", meaning
"stability", "duration", "everlastingness", etc. the idea being that the
king and his kingdom gained stability and duration from the performance of
the ceremony. It also symbolized the revival of the kingship after it had
"died" with the demise of the previous king. Raising the Djed was a
preliminary to his final ascent to the sky. Here, Seth & Horus assist King
Unas, making this spell multilayered.

Spell 185 provides a transition to the next wall. The divine king opens
the "gate
of Nun" so to enter the domain of his father (in the Coffin
Texts, we learn Re-Atum hatched out of his egg while "floating in
Nun"). At the end, King Unas is brought to the threshold of the fount and
origin of the deities (cf. Atum's autogenesis, the First Time and the
forthcoming of the Ennead).

X

ANTECHAMBER / North Wall (302 - 312)

BOOK OF ASCENSION

King Unas flies
away, ferries over & climbs ladders

186(302) the King
flies away to Re
by the KingTo say the words :The sky
has been bled (at dawn) and
Sothis lives, because I, King Unas, I am a living one, the son of
Sothis, for whom the Dual Enneadhave cleaned the imperishable Striker.
My house in the sky will not end.
My throne of the Two Lands on Earth
will not end.

Men hide, (but) the gods fly away !

Sothis has flown me to the sky into
the company of my brothers the gods. Nut the great has uncovered her arms for me. The Two
Bas, who are at the head of the Bas of Iunu (Heliopolis), who attend on Re,
have bowed themselves, they who spend the night making this mourning for
the god.

My
seat is with You, O Re, and I will give it to nobody else. I will ascend to
the sky to You, O Re,
for my face is that of falcons, my wings are those of
birds, my talons are the fangs of Him of Atfet.

There
is no word against me on Earth among men, there is no accusation in the sky
among the gods. For I annulled the word against me, which I destroyed in
order to mount up to the sky.

Paths-Parter (Wepwawet) has flown me up to the sky among
my brethren the gods.
I use my arms as a Nile goose, I flap my wings as a kite.

The
flier has flown !
O men, I have flown away from You !

187 (303)
the King
ferries over to the sky
by the KingTo say the words :O western gods, eastern
gods, southern gods, and northern gods ! These four
pure reed-floats which You set down for Osiris when he ascended to the sky, so
that he might ferry over to the Cool Waters with his son Horus at his fingers, so that
he might foster him and cause him to appear as a great god in the Cool Waters - set them down for me, King Unas !

by the godsAre You Horus, son of Osiris ?
Are You, King Unas, the god, the eldest one, the son of Hathor ?
Are You the seed of Geb ?
by the KingOsiris
has commanded me, King Unas, to appear as the counterpart of Horus, and these four
Akhs
who are in Heliopolis have written (it) on the record of the two great gods who
are in the Cool Waters.

188 (304) opening
of the sky to the King : a ladder in the necropolis
by the KingTo say the words :Hail
to You, daughter of Anubis, who is at the windows of the sky, the companion of
Thoth, who is at the uprights of the ladder ! Open my way that I, King Unas, may pass.

Greetings
to You, ostrich at the lips of the Winding Canal !
Open my way that
I may pass !

Greetings, bull of Re who has four horns : a horn of yours in the
West, a horn of yours in the East, a horn of yours in the South, and a horn of
yours in the North ! Bend down for me this western horn of yours, (so) that I
may pass.
by the Bull of Re
AreYou a pure Westerner, for You have come forth from Falcon City ?

by the KingGreetings to You, Field of Peace !
Greetings to the vegetation {that is in You !
Greetings to} my vegetation that is in You,
the clean growth therein is pleasant !

189 (305)
a Ladder
is made for the King
by the KingTo say the words :
A
ladder has been is knotted together by Re,
face to face with Osiris.
A ladder has been knotted together by
Horus, face to face with his father Osiris when he goes to his Akh, one of them being on this side, one of them being on that side, while I,
King Unas, am between them !
by the godsAre You a god whose places are pure
?
by the KingI have come forth from a pure
(place).
by Horus"Stand up, King Unas !", says Horus.
by Seth
"Sit down, King Unas !", says Seth.
by Re"Take his arm !",
says Re.
by the priestAkh, to the
sky !
Corpse, to the Earth !

What people
receive when they are buried, their thousand of bread and their thousand of beer,
is from the offering table of the Foremost of the Westerners.

Poor is the heir who has no
writing.
So King Unas writes with his big finger and does not write with his little
finger.

190 (306) the King
mounts up the Ladder
by the priestTo say the words :
"How
lovely to see ! How pleasing to behold," say they, namely the gods "of this
god's going forth to the sky, of King Unas going forth to the sky, with
his Bas atop him,
his terror about him, and his magic at his feet."

Geb has acted for him just like he was acted for in the same event.

There have come
to You the divine Bas of Pe, the divine
Bas of Nekhen, the gods who belong to the sky, and the gods who belong
to the Earth, (so) that they might make support for You,
upon their
arms.
So, ascend, King Unas, to the sky and mount up on it in this its
identity of "Ladder".

"The sky will be given to King Unas, and the Earth will be given to
him.", says Atum.
It
is Geb is the one who argues for it, (saying) :
"The mounds praised are the Mounds of Horus and
the Mounds of Seth, and the Fields of Reeds shall adore You in this your name of
Morning God,
as
Sobek under his mangroves."

Has
he (Seth) slain You, his heart having said that You would die because of him ?
But look,
You have become a more enduring bull of the wild bulls than he !

Endure, endure,
O enduring bull, (so) that You, King Unas, may be enduring at the head of them, at the head of
the Akhs forever !

Except for Re, King Unas rules
everybody & everything
191
(307) the King
is the Bull of Heliopolis
by the KingTo say the words :
There is a Heliopolitan in me,
O god !
Your Heliopolitan (nature) is in me, O god !
There is a
Heliopolitan in me, O Re !
Your Heliopolitan (nature) is in me, O Re !
My
mother is a Heliopolitan, my father is a Heliopolitan.
I, King Unas, am a Heliopolitan myself, born in Heliopolis
when Re was ruler of the Dual Ennead and above the plebs, Nefertem without peer, heir of my father Geb.

As for any god who will
thrust out his arm (to hold me off), when my face turns to worship You and to call
to You about my body, O god, and about my nose, O god, he will have no
bread ;
he will have no wafer in the company of his brothers the gods ;
he will not send (messengers) ;
he will not leap <the barrier> in the company of his
brothers the gods ;
the doors of the Nightboat will not be opened to him ;
the
doors of the Dayboat will not be opened to him ;
he will not be judged as a citizen ;
the doors of provisioning will not be opened to
him !

I
have come to You !
For I am the wild bull of the savannah, the great-faced
bull who comes from Heliopolis. I am both the one who gave You birth and
the one who can continue to give You birth.

192(308) the gods
invoke the King naked
by the KingTo say the words :
Greetings
to You, Horus on the Mounds of Horus !
Greetings to You, Seth on the Mounds of Seth !
Greetings to You, Reeds
in the Field of Reeds !
Greetings, You two reconciled gods, twin children of the four foremost gods
of the Great
Mansion, You who invoke me naked !

I, King Unas, have looked on You as Horus looked at Isis.
I have looked at You as Ka-Assigner looked on Serket.
I have looked at You as Sobek looked at Neith.
I have looked at You as Seth looked at the two reconciled (gods).

193 (309)
the King
is the servant of Re
by the KingTo say the words :
I, King Unas, I am <the secretary> of the god, in charge of the Mansion of Re, born of
Prayer-of-the-gods,
who is in the prow of the Boat of Re.

I shall sit before him, I
shall open his boxes, I shall break open his edicts, I shall seal his dispatches, I
shall send out his unwearying
messengers, and I shall do what he says to me.

194 (310) the King
warns the gods
by the KingTo say the words :
If
I, King Unas, should be cursed, then will Atum be cursed.
If I should be reviled, then will Atum be reviled.
If I should be smitten, then will Atum be smitten.
If I should be hindered on this road, then will Atum be hindered.
I am Horus !
I have come in the wake of my father !
I have come in the wake of Osiris !

O You (ferryman), who faces forward and backward,
bring this (ferryboat) to me !
by the ferryman"Which ferryboat should I get for
You ?"

by the KingBring me : "Whenever It Flies
It Lands
!"
195(311)
the King wants to be seen by Re and sees Re
by the KingTo say the words :
See
me,O Re !
Recognize me, O Re !
I, King Unas, belong to those that know You, so he knows his Lord will emerge.
I will not forget the blessing of the given offering,
(so that) she who
maroons whom she would maroon will open the doors of the horizon at the
ascent of the Dayboat.
I know the Hall of the Baldachin in the middle of the Platform of Izken
from which You go forth when You board the Nightboat.

Commend me, commend me, commend me, commend me -to say the words four times
without pause- to those four of
yours who go down behind You, and who see with two faces and who
argue with fierce <roaring> about the first-born with those who
will have trouble, along with those whom they would destroy, (so that) they
will not cross (him with) their arm when I
turn to You, when I come to You and tell You this name of yours of "Great Flood
which came forth from the Great One".

I will not become blind if You put me in darkness.
I will not become deaf even though I do not hear your voice.

You should take me with
You, with You !
He who will drive away storms for You, who will dispel the clouds for
You, and who will break up the hail for You.
I will make genuflection after genuflection for You !
I
will make adoration after adoration for You when You set me on the body of the
vulture !

196(312)
the King as ascending breadby the King

To say the words :
The bread has flown !
The bread has indeed flown,
toward my mansions, the Mansions of the Red Crown !

Commentary

To underline the connection between North and East, the
normal reading direction of the hieroglyphs is reversed. Although read, as
on the South Wall, from West to East, they should face West, but face
East. Both walls take their starting point from the West end of the
antechamber. This is a remarkable situation, suggesting this section is an
independent grouping.

The underlying theme of these 11 spells is the actual ascension of the
divine king. Various ways are described, and the power propelling him
cannot be stopped. Spell 194 makes this perfectly clear. If King Unas is
cursed, the supreme god himself is cursed !

Spells 186 - 190 summarize the ways of ascension : he flies away like a
Nile goose or a kite, ferries over or makes use of a ladder. The latter is
invoked several times. This theme returns in later Mediterranean
spirituality (cf. the Hermetic, Qabalistic (Jacob's Ladder), Mithraic and
Gnostic Ladders). The ladder is not only a means of ascent, but also
something bringing about a connection between sky and Earth.

In spell 186, the exclusive nature of the divine king is heard :

Men hide, (but) the gods fly away !
spell 186 (302)

The king is divine precisely because he is an Akh on Earth.

The spiritualization of the divine king (the transformation of his Ba into
an Akh), is the return to his natural state (being the companion of Re).
In that sense, it is not yet a "transformation" proper, for he was a god
on Earth and returns as one in the afterlife. He alone flies away while
commoners "hide". They do not ascend and remain in the darkness of the
underworld, the Duat.

Only after the Middle Kingdom, when everybody had a Ba, did the change
from "commoner" to "god" become pertinent. Indeed, when non-royals were
deified they, while becoming deities, lost their "human" form. Their
possession of a Ba implied the loss of humanity for the sake of
acquiring divinity. We have to wait for Christianity to integrate humanity
into the concept of Godhead, a notion foreign to Antiquity (Judaism
included).

In the Amduat, the major netherworld book of the
New Kingdom, the Ba of Re needed to be replenished daily. He did so in 12
Hours. To receive his warmth & light when Re travels through, the spirits
of the dead, bound to the kingdom of Osiris, anxiously awaited him.
Without Re, the kingdom of Osiris is a dangerous, dark and dreadful place.

So even in those more "democratic" days, everlastingness under the aegis
of Osiris was still a sad fate, although better than utter annihilation.
The elite however, travelled in the retinue of the Bark of Re, enjoying
the eternal recurrence of Re's light.

But in Unas's time, only the king, as son of Re, had a soul to be
transfigurated into an Akh. However, such logical subtleties did not worry
the pre-rational mind of our authors, and would later be "solved" when
Egyptian thought acquired the proto-rational mode of cognition (Osiris
becoming the "night Sun" and everyman having a Ba or principle of
spiritualization, i.e. "akhification").

King Unas ascends to his father Re because he is a god. His Ba is
indicative of the dynamism of this process of ascension. It
"transfigurates", becoming an Akh in the sky of Re.

My seat is with You, O Re,
and I will give it to nobody else.spell 186 (302)

In spell 190, in his identity of "Ladder", the divine king realizes the
connection between heaven and Earth, suggestive of the mystical union
between both realms :

The sky will be given
to King Unas, and the Earth will be given to him.", says Atum.spell 190 (306)

Spells 191 - 196 make it clear the king, except for Re, has nobody above
him.

Spell 191 identifies Unas with the Bull of Heliopolis, known as Mnevis
("menwer") bull. By identifying with the bull, a strong symbol of the
union of earthly & spiritual domains is invoked. The omnipotence of the
divine king is underlined. He is a Living Osiris (cf. the tail of a bull
hung from the hilt during the dedication of the field during the Sed
festival), a Horus-king and the son of the creator-god. In himself he
unites the whole of creation and this in all its various aspects and
planes of manifestation. Here, in spell 191, his Solar nature is again
emphasized :

There is a Heliopolitan in me, O god !
Your Heliopolitan (nature) is in me, O god !
There is a Heliopolitan in me, O Re !
Your Heliopolitan (nature) is in me, O Re !
My mother is a Heliopolitan, my father is a Heliopolitan.
I, King Unas, am a Heliopolitan myself, born in Heliopolis when Re was
ruler of the Dual Ennead and above the plebs, Nefertem without peer,
heir of my father Geb.spell 191 (307)

Situating himself at the core of Solar creativity, he dares to say to Re :

I am both the one who gave
You birth and the one who can continue to give You birth.spell 191 (307)

Apparently, even now, when the divine nature of the king is culminating
and the whole of creation is integrated by him, there may still be jealous
deities thrusting out their arms to oppose him. He makes sure they do not
receive their offerings and cannot participate in the eternal cycle of Re.

Spells 193 & 195 is the only text affirming the humility & service of the
divine king. It makes clear Re alone is entitled to tell Unas what to do.
It is part of this triumphant "book of ascension" to remind king Unas of
his ultimate origin & goal : Re-Atum-Kheprer. This proximity is explained
in terms of "knowing" and "seeing" :

The humility of this powerful magician before his divine father stands out
:

I will make genuflection after genuflection for You !
I will make adoration after adoration for You when You set me on the
body of the vulture !spell 195 (311)

This section ends by identifying the divine king with the most important
of offerings : bread. He is "ascended bread" because his return to his
father is the ultimate offering blessing Egypt and its Nile. For ascended,
the king will send a "good Nile" to his son, perpetuating the eternal &
everlasting cycles ruled by Sun & Moon. This reminds us of the Catholic
Credo, identifying Jesus Christ as "the living bread" ...

XI

ANTECHAMBER / East Gable (273 - 276)

ARRIVAL IN & RETURN FROM HEAVEN

197
(273-274)
the Cannibal Hymnby the priest
The sky rains down.
The stars darken.
The celestial vaults stagger.
The bones of Aker
tremble.
The <decans> are stilled against them,
at seeing King Unas rise as a Ba.
A god who lives on his fathers and feeds on his mothers.

King Unas is Lord of Wisdom whose mother knows not his name.
The glory of King Unas is in the sky, his might is in the horizon.
Like his father, Atum, his begetter.
Though his son, King Unas is mightier than he.

The Kas of King Unas are behind him.
His guardian forces
are under his feet.
His gods are over him.
His Uraeus-serpents are on his brow.
The guiding-serpent of King Unas is on his forehead :
she who sees the Ba (of the enemy as) good for <burning>.
The neck of King Unas is on his trunk.

King Unas is the Bull of the Sky,
who <shatters> at will,
who lives on the being of every god,
who eats their <entrails>,
even of those who come with their bodies
full of magic from the Island of Fire.

King Unas is one equipped,
who assembles his Akhs.
King Unas appears as this Great One,
Lord of those with (Helping) Hands.
He sits with his back to Geb,
for it is King Unas who weighs what he says,
together with Him whose name is hidden,
on this day of slaying the oldest ones.

King Unas is Lord of Offerings, who knots the cord,
and who himself prepares his meal.
King Unas is he who eats men and lives on gods,
Lord of Porters, who dispatches written messages.

It is "Grasper-of-the-top-knot", <who is> Kehau,
who lassoes them for King Unas.
It is "Serpent Raised-head",
who guards them for him and restrains them for him.
It is "He-upon-the-willows",
who binds them for him.
It is Courser, slayer
of Lords,
who will cut their throats for King Unas,
and will extract for him what is in their bodies,
for he is the messenger whom King Unas sends to restrain.
It is Shezmu,
who
will cut them up for King Unas,
and cooks meals of them in his dinner-pots.

(274)
It is King Unas who eats their magic and gulps down their Akhs.
Their big ones are for his morning meal,
their middle-sized ones are for his evening meal,
their little ones are for his night meal,
their old men and their old women are for his incense-burning.
It is the Great Ones in the North of the sky,
who light the fire for him,
to the cauldrons containing them,
with the thighs of their eldest (as fuel).

Those who are in the sky serve King Unas,
And the butcher's blocks are wiped over for him,
with the feet of their women.

He has revolved around the whole of the two skies.
He has circled the two banks.
For King Unas is the great power that overpowers the powers.
King Unas is a sacred image,
the most sacred image
of the sacred images of the Great One.
Whom he finds in his way,
him he devours <bit by bit>.

The place of King Unas is at the head
of all the noble ones
who are in the horizon.
For King Unas is a god, older than the oldest.
Thousands revolve around him, hundreds offer to him.
There is given to him a warrant as a great power by
Orion,
the father of the gods.

King Unas has risen again in the sky.
He is crowned as Lord of the Horizon.
He has smashed the back-bones,
and has seized the hearts of the gods.
He has eaten the Red Crown.
He has swallowed the Green One.
King Unas feeds on the lungs of the wise.
And likes to live on hearts and their magic.

King Unas abhors against licking <the Coils of the Red Crown>.
But delights to have their magic in his belly.
The dignities of King Unas will not be taken away from him.
For he has swallowed the knowledge of every god.
The lifetime of King Unas is eternal repetition.
His limit is everlastingness.
In this his dignity of :
"If-he-likes-he-does.
If-he-dislikes-he-does-not."
He who is at the limits of the horizon,
forever and ever.

Lo, their Ba is in the belly of King Unas.
Their Akhs are in the possession of King Unas,
as the surplus of his meal <out of> the gods.
Which is cooked for King Unas from their bones.

Lo, their Ba is in the possession of King Unas.
Their shadows are removed from their owners,
while King Unas is this one who ever rises and lasting lasts.

The doers of ill deeds have no power to destroy,
the chosen seat of King Unas,
among the living in this land.
Forever and
ever.

198(275)the King opens the
double doors of the horizonby the priestTo say the words :King Unas has come to You,
falcons, for your Horus-mansions become peaceful to King Unas, with his bent
tail, of the intestine of baboon, at his rear.
King Unas will open the double doors.
King Unas
will attain the limit of the horizon.
King Unas has laid down his tailed kilt there.
King Unas will become the Great One who is in Crocodilopolis.
Protection of the East of the Tomb199 (276)

by the priestTo say the words :Do against yourself what You
can do against yourself, You Zekzek-snake who are in your <hole>, You
hindrance !

Commentary

The
Cannibal Hymn has been the object of a
separate translation & commentary.

Its position on the East Gable is very symbolical. The East is the place
of Solar emergence, and the Eastern horizon the realm of transformation
(of Ba into Akh). Towering above the Ka-chapels, this hymn to the divine
king is well to underline his supreme power :

King Unas is Lord of Wisdom whose mother knows not his name.
The glory of King Unas is in the sky, his might is in the horizon.
Like his father, Atum, his begetter.
Though his son, King Unas is mightier than he.spell 197 (273)

In these and other unmistaken superlatives, the truly exceptional nature
of the king, who was an Akh on Earth and now is an Akh in heaven, is
affirmed. Both Osiris & Re are integrated in his spirit, more powerful
than powerful, more sacred than sacred :

He has revolved around the whole of the two skies.
He has circled the two banks.
For King Unas is the great power that overpowers the powers.
King Unas is a sacred image, the most sacred image
of the sacred images of the Great One.
Whom he finds in his way, him he devours <bit by bit>.spell 197 (273)

The apotheosis of the spiritualization of the divine king, his Osirian
rebirth and Solar ascent all lead to his seemingly foreboding entrance
into heaven :

The sky rains down.
The stars darken.
The celestial vaults stagger.
The bones of Aker
tremble.
The <decans> are stilled against them,
at seeing King Unas rise as a Ba.
A god who lives on his fathers and feeds on his mothers.spell 197 (273)

To "rise as a Ba" is to rise with great force & stamina, i.e. enduring
strength and energy. As a spirit Unas enters heaven, but he is propelled
by extraordinary dynamical power (Ba). In heaven, Unas eats the magic and
gulps down the spirits of the deities, promoting his intrinsic principles
: unity, witnessing & transcendence.

Spell 198 opens the doors of the horizon, so the king may move to the
Imperishables.

King Unas will attain the limit of the horizon.spell 198 (275)

Spell 199 introduces the East Wall, containing the protection of
the East.

XII

ANTECHAMBER / East Wall (277 - 301)

PROTECTING THE EAST

200
(277)

by the priest{To say the words :}Horus has fallen because of his Eye !
The Bull has crawled away because of his testicles.
Fall down !
Crawl away !

201
(278)

by the priestTo say the words :Babi has stood up to meet the Foremost of Letepolis : let the spittle
stop the one whose trampling is desired, You whose trampling is desired.
You are released, Wefi-snake :
cause King Unas to be protected.

202(279)by the priestTo say the words :King Unas is a trampler, who <chops> the mud of the canals.
Thoth, behind King Unas !
Trample on the one of the dark, trample on the one of the dark !

203 (280 - 281)

by the priestTo say the words :O You Evil-doer, Evil-doer !
O You
of the wall, You of the wall !
Set your face behind You !
Beware of the great mouth !

Caught one of the courtyard, You !
Earthen one of the courtyard,
long one, You of the foot, lion of Pehty, lion of Petjety !
Pehty and Petjety, give me now your long one !
Stack up the flesh.
Woe, now : the pot !
The plaited serpent, the plaited serpent, will be conveyed away,
will be conveyed away.

204(282)

by the priestTo say the words :O Hazet-snake, the vulture's mouth - that is your arrack.
Hazet-snake, the vulture's mouth, the one belonging to the Gold of Jubilation,
Apparent in Heat and Jubilation. This is your Bull,
the strong one against whom this was done.

205(283)by the KingTo say the words :Shall I, King Unas, chop this left nail of mine against You and
set a blow with it for Min, attacker ? O You who rob, do not rob !

206(284)

by the KingTo say the words :He one Atum has bitten has
filled my mouth, coiling all up.
The centipede has been smitten by Him-of-the-Mansion, and He-of-the-Mansion has
been smitten by the centipede : that lion is inside
this lion ; the two bulls shall fight inside the ibis.

207
(285)

by the priestTo say the words :Your two drops (of poison) are off to your two (poison) sacs : spit them out at <once>,
now ! Gory !
Spew out, You with the liquid, with water.
O You of the injured eye, headband of Seshau - rain, You wretched one !
Cobra, reject !
You windpipe, You of the Het-plant, alum !
The lion is dangerous with (his) water.
Extender, do not extend ! It is the windpipe.

208(286)

by the KingTo say the words :

The Byblites have crawled off. The lake-long-ones
Red Crowns shall bring in the lake-long-one, for I shall raise the Red Crowns
and You shall praise my name.209 (287)

by the priest
{To say the words :}
You whose mother turned him away !
You whose mother turned him away,
are You not such, are You not such ?
Lion, spit out !

210 (288)

by the priestTo say the words :O Hekj-snake, O Hekret-snake, go
away, head off !
The Eye of King Unas, do not
look at him !
You shall not effect your mission with King Unas,
spit out and do not come back !

211
(289)

by the priestTo say the words :The bull has famme, to the Sedjeh-snake
and the Sedjeh-snake has fallen to the bull. Fall down !
Crawl away !

212 (290)

by the priestTo say the words :Face has fallen on face. Face has seen face.
The
black-dappled knife has gone forth and swallowed for itself and acquired for
itself.

213 (291)

by the priestTo say the words :Your jubilation has been removed, You white one of the <hole>, by
the one who emerged as worm. Your own jubilation has been
taken away, You white one of the <hole>, by him who emerged as a worm.

214
(292)
by the priestTo say the words :You are one whom the attacker attacked, You snake whose
attack has missed. Your aggression is for your aggressor, You snake whose attack
has missed.

215 (293)by the KingTo say the words :Get back, You hidden one !
Hide yourself, do not let me, King Unas, see You !
You should not come to where I am, that I, may not pronounce against
You this your name of Traveler, son of (the female) Traveler.
The Majesty of the Pelican
has fallen in the inundation,
turned away, turned away !
Monster, lie down !

216(294)by the KingTo say the words :I, King Unas, am Horus who came forth from
the acacia, who came forth from the acacia, to whom it was commanded : "Beware
of the lion !" To whom the command went forth : "Beware of the lion !"
I have
come forth from my stoppered jar after having spent the night in my stoppered jar, and I will appear
at dawn. I have come forth from my
stoppered jar, having spent the night in my stoppered jar,
and I will appear at dawn.

217
(295)by the KingTo say the words :Mafdet will leap on the neck of
the snake who brings his gift, and again on the neck of the serpent
with sweeping head. Which is the one who will remain? It is I, King Unas, who
will remain !

218
(296)by the KingTo say the words :Tjetju-snake, where are You going ? Wait for me, King Unas,
(for) King Unas is Geb.
Hemetj-snake, brother of the Hemetjet-snake, your father
Djaamiu has died.

219
(297)by the King
My hand has come upon You, <accursed> snake. The one that comes on You is that
of Mafdet, at the fore of the Mansion
of Life, striking You on your face, and scratching You on your eyes, so that
You fall into your dung and crawl into your urine.
Fall down !
Lie down !
Crawl
away, that your mother Nut may see You !

220
(298)by the KingTo say the words :Re will appear, his effective Uraeus upon him, against this snake which came
forth from the Earth.
You under my fingers, I, King Unas, shall cut off your head with this knife which is in the
hand of her who has the face of Mafdet. He shall draw out those things
which are in your mouth, and milk your poison with those four cords
that trail behind the sandals of Osiris.
Monster, lie down !
Bull,
crawl away !

221 (299)by the KingTo say the words :Cobra, to the sky !
Centipede of Horus, to the Earth !
The sandals of
Horus is treading on the Lord
of the Mansion, the bull of the cavern.
Shunned snake, I, King Unas, cannot be shunned !
My sycamore is my sycamore.
My refuge is my refuge.
Anyone I find in my way I will devour.

222
(300)
by the KingTo say the words :O Kherti of Nezat, and You ferryman of
the Ikehet which Khnum made !
Bring this (ferry) for me, for I, King Unas, am Sokar of Rosetau.
I am off to where Sokar, Lord of the Spread Lake, dwells.
You two, get those (ferries) that cross the desert.

223
(301)
address to the primeval deities

by the KingTo say the words :You have your bread-loaf,
O Nun and Naunet !
You pair of the gods,
who joined the gods with their shadow.

You have your bread-loaf, O Amun and Amaunet !
You pair of the gods,
who joined the gods with their shadow.

You have your bread-loaf, O Atum and Double-Lion !
Who yourselves created your two gods and their bodies,
that is Shu and Tefenet, who made the gods,
who begot the gods and established the gods.

Tell your father that I, King Unas, have given You your bread-loaves, that I
have contented You with what is yours, and that You should not hinder me when
I cross to him at the horizon.

For I know him and know his name :
"eternal" is his name ; "the Eternal, Lord of the Year" is his name.
He whose arms are a weapon, Horus-who-is-over-the-stars-of-the-sky, who brings
Re to life every day, shall refashion me and bring me to life
every day !

I have come to You, O Horus of Shat.
I have come to You, O Horus of Shezmet.
I have come to You, O Horus of the East.

Lo, I have brought to You your great eastern eye from the cavern. Accept
it from me and be sound, (receive) its water in it and be sound, its gore
in it and be sound, its vapor in it and be sound.

Ascend to it and take it in this your name of the shawl of the god.
You should mount up to it in this your name of Re.
Put it on your brow in this its name of "Brow-unguent".
You should redden with it in this its name of "Willow".
Gleam with it among the gods in this its name of "Faience".
Be joyful by means of it in this its name of "Jubilation oil of Renenutet", for
it loves You.

Arise, great reed float, as Paths-Parter (Wepwawet), filled with your Akh and emergent from the horizon ! Take the crown from the great and
mighty <foreigners> who preside over Libya as Sobek, Lord of Bakhu.

When You travel to your fields and course the interior of your mangroves and
your nose smells the sweet savours of Shezmet, You should make my Ka ascend for him beside him, just like that coursing of yours ascends for
You.

So, clean me !
So, brighten me bright in this Jackal Lake of yours, (O) Jackal, in which You
cleanse the gods - powerful for You and sharp for You !
O Horus, Lord of the Malachite !To say the words four times :"Two green falcons."

Commentary

Like the East Gable spells in the burial-chamber, these
spells, except the last one, are protective. Spell 223 does not belong to
this collection and "closes" the antechamber texts. This is a remarkable
spell.

It begins with the presentation of bread-offerings to the creator-gods of
Hermopolis and Heliopolis. This is, ex hypothesi, done by the king.
Nun
and Naunet represent the primordial waters, undifferentiated & dark.
Amun and Amaunet, the hidden ones, point to the remote,
mysterious and unseen nature of this deep stratum of divine existence,
whereas Atum and Ruti, the double-lion god, symbolize its completeness and
totality. The latter are identified with Shu & Tefnut, the originator of
the deities, and outside the primeval pairs.

The first two pairs (Nun - Naunet & Amun - Amaunet) refer to the
Hermopolitan Ogdoad, presided by Thoth.

The actual names of the primordial deities of Hermopolis, the so-called
list of the "paut" of Thoth are mentioned at Edfu, Dendera, Karnak, Philae
etc. The oldest pictorial evidence of their form date from the reign of
Seti I (ca. 1290 - 1279) in the Early Ramesside Period of the New Kingdom
(Early 19th Dynasty). The list below is of the Late Period, taken from the
texts of the walls of the temple the Persian Darius II (424 - 404 BCE)
built in the Oasis of Khârga (Hebet).

The "inert" qualities of Nun are associated with the even pairs of gods &
goddesses which form the primordial Ogdoad. Created "companies" are
usually trinities or trinities of three (or enneads, nine being the
original number to which a "head" is added), i.e. uneven, essentially
unbalanced or dynamical. Nun & its ogdoadic matrix is without duality,
split, generation, time, life, death. All is absolutely undifferentiated,
finished & complete. In physical terms, we could say the world before
creation is understood as absolutely chaotic, i.e. the measure of entropy
is infinite (implying homogeneity and with no flux). In Nun there is no
heterogeneity between objects. The asymmetrical balancing-principle (the
two moving scales of the balance) characterizing creation is lost.
Symmetry is maximal. The head of the Ennead of Hermopolis is Thoth, the
god of writing, learning, magic, time, medicine & wisdom.

The deities of precreation are nothing less than the self-creating sources
of the divine as such. Here, glorifying the creator-god of Heliopolis,
they are said to have a father ! This overstating view is thus in conflict
with the uncreated nature of the primordial state. Indeed, on the one
hand, nobody creates Nun for it represents "djedet", everlastingness
devoid of beginning & end and, on the other hand, bi-sexual Atum
autogenitor creates him/herself without a consort. Instead of
being a theology, the spell apparently serves devotional purposes and/or
is an overstatement bringing to the fore the specific unitary streak of
Heliopolitanism.

The father of the "chaos-gods" (Faulkner's name for these preexistent
deities) is called "the eternal" ("nehi") called "Horus who is over the
stars of the sky". It is this aspect of Atum which brings Re, as well as
the divine king, to life every day. If the primeval deities are the
sources of the deities, then this "Horus" is the source of sources.
In the mind of the Heliopolitans, ultimately, a single divine principle
lies at the origin of both darkness (Nun) and light (Re). This monotheist
core of Heliopolitan
henotheism, present in its founding
texts, vigorously manifests in the drastic New Kingdom Atenist reforms of
Akhenaten (ca. 1353 - 1336 BCE), which will indirectly
influence the rise of monotheism in Antiquity (first in Egypt by the
theologies of Amun &
Ptah and later in
Judaism). Only two players are left : the
sole God (Aten, Amun, YHVH, Abba & Allah) and His divinely inspired
"intermediaries" (Akhenaten, prophets,
son of God &
Mohammed).

In this spell, the king knows the secret name of the supreme father-god,
more profound even than the precreation, preexistent, primordial deities
generating the gods & goddesses of creation. This supreme god is the power
within both Re and himself !

The third and final part of the spell has a prayer :

Arise, great reed float, as Paths-Parter (Wepwawet), filled with your
Akh and emergent from the horizon ! Take the crown from the great and
mighty <foreigners> who preside over Libya as Sobek, Lord of Bakhu.

When You travel to your fields and course the interior of your mangroves and
your nose smells the sweet savours of Shezmet, You should make my Ka ascend for him beside him, just like that coursing of yours ascends for
You.

So, clean me !
So, brighten me bright in this Jackal Lake of yours, (O) Jackal, in which You
cleanse the gods - powerful for You and sharp for You !
O Horus, Lord of the Malachite !spell 223 (301)

224
(313) opening the door to the sky
by the priestDraw back, the phallus of Babi.
Open, {door of the sky. You sealed door,
open a path for King Unas} on the heat of the fire where the gods scoop water.
The glide path of Horus, the glide path of
Horus, will King Unas glide on, in this heat of the fire where the gods scoop
water ?
They will make a road for King Unas (so)
that King Unas may pass on it, for this King Unas is Horus.

225
(314) spell against the
guardian of the door
by the priestTo say the words :Back, gored longhorn, with the fingers of the
horizon on his horns !
Fall down !
Retreat !

226(315) entering the sky
by the King
Here am I, King Unas, O screeching baboon, O howling baboon.
My death is at my own desire, my honour upon me, I make acclamation and ululation and sit among
{the youngsters}.227
(316)

by the King
O You back-turning star, I, King Unas does not have to give You his magic. I sit side by side
with my back to the swept area in
Heliopolis. I will be taken to the sky !228
(317)
by the KingTo say the words :I, King Unas,
have come here in advance of the waters of the great flood.
I am Sobek, green of plumage,
watchful of face, raised fore, the raging one who came forth from the tigh
and tail of the Great One who is in the Sunshine.

I have come to my canals which in the flood-shore of the Great
Inundation, to the place of
rest with green fields in the horizon, that
I might make green the herbage
which is on the shores of the horizon, that I might bring faience to the great eye
in the midst of the fields, that
I might receive my seat that is in the
horizon.

I
have appeares as Sobek, son of Neith.
I will eat with my mouth.
I will urinate and I will copulate with my
phallus.
I am the Lord of Semen, who takes women from their husbands to the place I
wish, according to the urges of my heart.

Commentary

These spells, like those on the opposite wall of the
corridor, read from South to North, toward the exit of the tomb. Their
function is likewise. The divine king has been tranfigurated in the
horizon, in the place of Solar illumination, and enters the divine world.

Babi is a guardian of the threshold between both realms. First he draws
back the bolt locking the doors of the sky at the limit of the horizon
and then the king identifies with Babi to ascend to the sky.

In spell 228, we read how the sexual power of the king participates in the
cosmic libido of Re.

"The integration of the spiritual and the
instinctual level - the heavenly and the earthly - of spiritual power and
overwhelming sexual fecundity is central to the religious consciousness
that comes to expression in the Pyramid Texts."Naydler,
2005, p.304.

CORRIDOR / East Wall (318 - 321)

THE PHALLUS OF BABI SAILS THE KING

229 (318)

by the priest
{To say the words :
King Unas is a Plait-snake, the bull who leads}, who swallowed his seven uraei
and his seven neck-vertebrae came into being, {who gives orders} to the seven Enneads which hear the word of the monarch.

King Unas will come
so that he may inhale myrrh and become beautiful with myrrh, (for) King Unas fingernail is full of myrrh.

King Unas will take away your power, You gods !
Serve
King Unas who will assign your Kas.

230
(319)
by the priestTo say the words :
King Unas is a bull with radiance in the midst of his eyes :
the mouth of King Unas
is hale
with the fiery blast and the head of King Unas has the horns of Horus, the Lord of
the Nile Valley.
King Unas will lead the god.
King Unas will control the Ennead.
King Unas will cultivate lapis-lazuli.
King Unas will plant the acacia
of the Nile Valley, for
King Unas has tied the cords of the peppergrass,
King Unas has united the skies, and
King Unas has power over the southern and northern lands - the god of those in
(his) presence, for
King Unas has built the city of the god in accordance with its proper due.
King Unas is the third in his appearance (with Horus and Re).

231 (320)by the priestTo say the words :
Now that King Unas has cleared the night, and
King Unas has sent off the hour-stars,the controlling powers will appear and privilege King Unas as Babi.
King Unas is the son of her who does not know him :
she bore King Unas to yellow-face, Lord of the Night Skies.

(He is) your greater, You Lords !
Hide yourselves, You common folk, from before King Unas !
King Unas is Babi,
Lord of the Night Sky,
the bull of baboons,
who lives on those who do not know him.

232 (321)

by the priestTo say the words :O You (ferryman) with the back of his head behind him, bring to
King Unas Seferet-hetepet which is on the back of Osiris, (so) that King Unas
may ascend on it to the sky and King Unas may escort Re in the sky.

Commentary

These last spells see the return of the image of the
bull : the leading snake-bull, a bull with radiance in the midst of
his eyes, Babi, the bull of baboons.

Finally, in spell 232, a celestial ferryboat is brought
to the divine king. It is placed on the back of Osiris to allow king
Unas to ascend to Re. A very strong image. An ascent by bark was
already given preference in the book of ascension (the antechamber North
Wall texts) and is consistent with Egyptian iconography throughout the
dynasties.

In the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts, the mast of the ferryboat,
transporting the celestial travelers across the heavens, was called the
"phallus of Babi" (cf. spell 231). Here, this boat is called
"seferet-hetepet". These two words do not occur anywhere else in Ancient
Egyptian literature and so the concept conveyed is confused. "Seferet"
could be derived from "sefet", meaning "sweet" and "friendly". But "sefer"
is also indicated, meaning "fabulous animal". "Hetepet" derives from
"hetep", meaning "satisfaction" or "peace". In the
sapiental texts, "hetep" or "hotep" is related to the inner
truth of conduct, i.e. a life in harmony with Maat. If "seferet" points to
outward mildness & kindness, then "seferet-hetepet" could mean something
like kindness-in-peace or mildness-with-satisfaction.

"Seferet-hetepet" enables Unas to ascend.

Placing this ferryboat "on the back of Osiris", refers to the Duat and its
Lunar spirituality. Are outward mercy and inner peace the result of a
Solar illumination (in the horizon) facilitated by Lunar offerings,
purifications & rebirth ? In the horizon, Unas acquired these and they
allow his ascension and final role as protector & escort of Re ...